TRANSPORT

Rail Franchising

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to resume the rail franchising programme.

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken to resume the rail franchising programme.

Patrick McLoughlin: In my written ministerial statement of 31 January 2013, Official Report, columns 60-62WS, on the paused franchises, I said that I would announce the revised rail franchising programme during the spring of 2013. I am on course to do this by the end of April, in accordance with the Brown recommendations, and will do this sooner if possible.

Midland Main Line

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that the specification for the next franchise for the Midland main line will allow bidders to bring forward proposals for electric trains which are (a) new and (b) built in the UK.

Simon Burns: At the point of refranchising the Midland main line, we will seek rolling stock proposals from bidders which balance the needs of passengers and affordability and this is planned to involve the introduction of electric trains. While bidders may propose such units are new, procurement law would prevent them discriminating against non UK manufacturers.

Cancelled Rail Franchise Competitions (Costs)

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse arising from the cancelled and delayed rail franchise competitions; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McLoughlin: The bidders' costs associated with the failed West Coast Mainline competition are estimated at £45.8 million. As detailed in the PAC's report, there are other costs that have been incurred as a consequence of the decision to cancel West Coast and to pause the other franchises, the final total of which I will give the House when available.

Parking Companies

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to prevent abuse of DVLA data by parking companies.

Stephen Hammond: A range of comprehensive measures is in place to prevent the abuse of DVLA data by private parking management companies. Parking companies cannot obtain data from the DVLA unless they are members of an appropriate Accredited Trade Association and abide by its Code of Practice. In this role, the British Parking Association audits its members annually, and the DVLA also undertakes regular inspections. Where necessary, the DVLA takes direct action to suspend facilities to request vehicle keeper data.
	In 2012, DVLA suspended 21 parking companies from receiving keeper data for various periods.

Railway Capacity

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made on creating additional capacity on the railways.

Norman Baker: The Government's rail investment strategy published in July 2012, provides for over £9 billion to be invested between 2014 to 2019. This investment will among other benefits, serve 140,000 extra commuting trips per day in the morning peak, by the end of this decade. It will support economic growth and jobs, provide sufficient capacity to meet forecast demand, and deliver a greener, more cost efficient railway that is better for freight and better for passengers.

A1

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his oral statement of 28 January 2013, Official Report, column 685, on High Speed Rail, for what reason he stated that we have just announced a major investment on dualling the A1 up to Newcastle, when the A1 has been dualled up to Newcastle for more than two decades.

Stephen Hammond: The Chancellor announced investment of £378 million to upgrade two key sections of the A1 as part of the autumn statement on 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-882.
	The investment will result in the provision of new roads in both directions parallel to the existing A1 between Lobley Hill and the A184 in Gateshead, and upgrading the A1 to a three lane motorway standard road between Leeming and Barton.

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who his Department's cycling champion is.

Norman Baker: I take the view that the promotion of cycling should be a matter for all Ministers all parts of the Department, rather than the responsibility resting with one individual.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the proposed width is of the (a) track and (b) land either side of the track that will be purchased by the Government for the construction of the High Speed 2 line.

Simon Burns: The information is as follows:
	(a) The proposed width of the railway infrastructure system (which includes spatial allowance for two tracks, drainage, power supply and signalling equipment etc.) is approximately 19 m for Phase 1. At the current stage of design, HS2 Ltd has made an initial allowance for a distance of 22 m for Phase 2. This is the same baseline used for Phase 1 when it was at this same stage. This figure is subject to change as the designs are refined.
	(b) The above dimensions do not include the land required for earthworks, substations, operational and maintenance access, environmental mitigation and temporary construction sites which will vary along the route. The proposed limits of land take will be shown on the documents submitted for the appropriate Hybrid Bills.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish all (a) requests for additional funding, (b) requests and clearances on employing consultants and (c) other correspondence on recruitment and financial matters between his Department and High Speed 2 Limited.

Simon Burns: I refer my right hon. Friend to my answer of 19 October 2012, Official Report, columns 523-24W.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the advice which he received on whether to introduce a paving bill for expenditure on the High Speed 2 project; with which external groups and stakeholders he has discussed introducing a paving bill; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: To facilitate the effective conduct of Government, advice to Ministers on the formulation of government policy is not routinely published and I have no plans to do so in this case.
	The content of future legislative sessions remains unconfirmed until the time of the Queen's Speech and has not formed the basis for discussion with external groups or stakeholders.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons he plans to introduce a paving bill for expenditure on the High Speed 2 project; if he will make it his policy to publish that bill in draft by Easter 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The proposed paving bill would ensure that we are able to deliver the HS2 project as fast as possible. It would provide the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), with parliamentary approval to incur essential expenditure on the preparatory works in advance of the proposed hybrid bill achieving Royal Assent and allow the construction programme to proceed as quickly as possible thereafter. It will also provide Parliament with an additional opportunity to debate elements of the HS2 project.
	It is our intention for the paving bill to be a short Money Bill. If it is included in the Queen's Speech, it will be introduced when parliamentary time allows. A decision on whether to publish the bill in draft will be taken once we have clarity on the likely timing of its introduction.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under which of his Department's budget headings spending related to the High Speed 2 project has been made to date; what the total amount spent to date under each budget heading is; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The spend to date on High Speed 2 by HS2 Ltd and DFT for the past four financial years, is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13(1) 
			 DFT     
			 Resource (Programme) — — 0.5 1.9 
			 Resource Admin(2) — — 1.1 1.9 
			 Resource (total) — — 1.6 3.8 
			 Capital (total) — 9.6 19.7 17.8 
			      
			 HS2 Ltd     
			 Resource (Programme) — — 32.0 130.3 
			 Resource (Admin) — — 1.9 3.8 
			 Resource total (3)9.4 (3)14.6 33.9 134.1 
			 Capital (total) 0.03 0.1 0.4 8.2 
			 (1) Year to date April 2012 to January 2013, as this is the most up-to-date information available. (2) Includes pay and non-pay expenditure. (3) Breakdown between Admin and Programme costs not available.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the maximum distance is which a property must be from the route of High Speed 2 to qualify for the exceptional hardship scheme.

Simon Burns: We are currently consulting on the Exceptional Hardship scheme for Phase Two of High Speed 2, and I cannot pre-judge the outcome of that consultation. However, for the Exceptional Hardship scheme for Phase One there is no maximum distance within which a property must be in order to qualify for the Exceptional Hardship scheme.

Ports: Immigration Controls

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Home Department on difficulties being experienced by the cruise industry arising from immigration checks on (a) UK citizens and (b) other nationals disembarking from vessels on day visits to UK ports.

Stephen Hammond: Ministers from the Department for Transport have met with Home Office Ministers but this specific issue has not been raised in discussion. If the hon. Gentleman would like to provide details of the difficulties encountered by the cruise industry I will certainly raise those concerns with the Home Office.

Road Traffic: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has (a) commissioned and (b) had access to on levels of congestion for (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12 on roads in London; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Under devolution, the Mayor of London is responsible for Transport in London. The Mayor's Transport Strategy, published in 2010, includes trends in travel demand and forecasts levels to 2031. The strategy sets out the Mayor's vision for transport in London, including measures to accommodate the predicted growth in travel demand and to reduce congestion.

Roads: Accidents

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress he has made in establishing a cross-stakeholder group to have input into the Department Justice's proposed review of how the criminal justice system operates when people are injured or killed on the road.

Stephen Hammond: We have established a stakeholder group to look at the criminal justice system. It comprises the Home Office, Sentencing Council, Ministry of Justice, ACPO, CPS, British Cycling, CTC, RoadPeace and the Department for Transport.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Parliamentary Estate: Repairs and Modernisation

Meg Hillier: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what recent progress has been made on plans to carry out repairs and modernisation of the Parliamentary Estate.

John Thurso: The Parliamentary Estates programme manages a rolling programme of repairs and refurbishment of all the buildings on the parliamentary estate. The Commission and the House of Lords House Committee asked for a full independent analysis to be carried out of the various high-level options for the future renovation of the Palace of Westminster in the light of the large volume of remedial work that is now required.

DEFENCE

Alcoholic Drinks

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the level of alcohol-related absenteeism in his Department; whether his Department has an (a) internal alcohol policy and (b) occupational health strategy; and if he will publish such documents.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence's system for recording sickness absence of civilian staff does not distinguish between absences which relate to alcohol, and those which do not. No such estimate has therefore been made on the level of alcohol-related absenteeism.
	Our statement of civilian personnel policy on standards of conduct and behaviour includes the policy on problem drinking and alcohol dependency. I will place a copy of that policy in the Library of the House.
	The Department has its own in-house Employee and Welfare Service, including an Occupational Health Provision (currently provided by Atos Healthcare) which is supported by our internal policy on Health and Well-being. The Department is in the process of developing an occupational health strategy, to complement our existing occupational health policy.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the criteria are for serving armed forces personnel being discharged from the armed forces on the grounds that their services are no longer required;
	(2)  how many armed forces personnel have been discharged from the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force in each year since May 2010 on the grounds of their services no longer being required.

Mark Francois: The following table details the criteria for serving armed forces personnel who are discharged on the grounds that their services are no longer required.
	
		
			 Service Services no longer required (SNLR) criteria 
			 Royal Navy Discharge SNLR (Unruly): Where service or civil offending has rendered an individual's position untenable, either due to repeated offending or the seriousness of the offence in question. 
			  Discharge SNLR (Compulsory Drugs Test) or (Drugs Misuse) 
			   
			 Army SNLR: Generally, this term is used for the termination of employment of a soldier who cannot or should not be transferred to the Reserve. In recognition that potential employers may regard the term SNLR with some reservation, an explanation should follow and examples of this are: 
			  —SNLR: An apprentice or solider aged 17 ½ years or over, who is unsatisfactory due to circumstances within his control or to indiscipline; 
			  —SNLR: An apprentice still at an apprentice's college over the age of 17 ½years who is guilty of misconduct. 
			   
			 Royal Air Force SNLR: If found unsuitable during recruit training. 
			  SNLR: Applies to Airmen considered to be unsuitable in trade category or rank. 
			  SNLR: Being unable to meet service obligations either through circumstances beyond their control or due to permanently reduced medical employment standard. 
		
	
	The number of armed forces personnel that have been discharged from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force on these grounds is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the proximity of pensionable age to the immediate pensions point.

Mark Francois: There have been no representations about the proximity of the pensionable age to the immediate pension point (IPP), but there has been a significant volume of correspondence about the proximity of redundancy to the IPP.
	In relation to Tranches 1 and 2 of the current armed forces redundancy programme, there have been 28 appeals across all three services where proximity to the IPP was included in the submission, and there have been 15 service complaints where proximity to the IPP was mentioned. In some cases the appeal and service complaint were submitted by the same individual.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has considered using length of service as a criterion for determining redundancies.

Mark Francois: In order to ensure that the redundancy programme is fair to all involved, redundancy fields are generated using clear and objective eligibility criteria, including such things as rank, arm, length of service and career employment in an area where a surplus of manpower exists.
	The decision to select an individual for redundancy within each field is based upon an assessment against their performance, potential and wider employability within the future armed forces. The single service selection boards do not know the exact length of service of individuals who meet the sift criteria.
	Those who scored lowest against the redundancy fields would be selected for redundancy first, until the single service reached the target number for that particular field. While length of service has been used to determine where a surplus exists, it has not been part of the criteria for selecting individuals within the fields.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Duncan Hames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maximum amount available is for personnel in the Army who leave (a) after their immediate pension point and receive the combined value of the terminal grant, maximum commutation and the redundancy special capital payment and (b) before their immediate pension point and receive redundancy special capital payment and resettlement grant.

Mark Francois: The differing personal circumstances applicable to each individual leaving the armed forces, and the level of resettlement commutation that they apply for, have a significant bearing on the terms of that individual's redundancy. The maximum amount available to any individual is dependant upon these variables.
	An estimate can however be obtained by using the 2012 Redundancy Calculator. As an example, an Army major leaving just after the immediate pension point (IPP)(16 years service after age 21) might receive upwards of £88,000 as a tax free lump sum with an annual pension of some £15,500. The same officer leaving just before IPP may receive a tax free lump sum in excess of some £127,000, with a preserved pension at age 60, and an additional element paid at age 65.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what differences there are in the criteria used for determining redundancies in the Army and the Royal Air Force.

Mark Francois: There are no differences. Selections for redundancy are made by single service selection boards based solely upon an assessment of an individual's performance, potential and future employability to ensure that they retain the individuals whose skills and competences most closely meet the future needs of the services.

Cemeteries: Bassetlaw

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which headstones and plots of British servicemen in cemeteries in Bassetlaw are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission; and how often these are inspected and maintained.

Mark Francois: holding answer 1 February 2013
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD) acknowledges the excellent work done by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) in looking after the graves of our fallen from the two world wars. Although the MOD contributes funding to the Commission, it is an independent body. The information requested is not held by the MOD but by the CWGC.

Departmental Responsibilities

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's core statutory obligations are; and what estimate he has of the annual cost of delivering each such obligation.

Andrew Robathan: The main functions of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) are the defence of the realm and the organisation and operation of the armed forces. These are not statutory functions, but their cost is summarised in the MOD's annual report and accounts.

Fuels

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much fuel has been used by his Department in each of the last 10 years; how much this fuel has cost; how much of this cost can be attributed to operations in Afghanistan; and what estimate he has made of the (a) volume and (b) cost of fuel needed by his Department in each of the next five years.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence's consumption of fuel has historically been driven by the pace and scale of activity, including in recent years an increasing commitment to military operations in Afghanistan. In the light of the volatility of oil prices, we have introduced forward-purchase arrangements to provide price stability and more efficient budgetary planning.
	The information available on the cost and consumption of marine, aviation and ground fuel is as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year Total expenditure Of which: Afghanistan 
			 2002-03 185 (1)— 
			 2003-04 161 (1)— 
			 2004-05 239 (1)— 
		
	
	
		
			 2005-06 369 (1)— 
			 2006-07 416 16 
			 2007-08 537 70 
			 2008-09 695 150 
			 2009-10 482 123 
			 2010-11 628 168 
			 2011-12 635 190 
			 2012-13 (estimate) 769 206 
			 (1) This information is not readily available. The fuel volumes consumed would have been relatively low compared with later years given the scale of operations in Afghanistan at the time. 
		
	
	Comparable data on the volume of fuel consumption for the above years are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	We estimate that annual expenditure on fuel over the period 2013-14 to 2016-17 inclusive will be between £600 million and £750 million, and that annual consumption will be between 900,000 and 1,000,000 cubic metres. This estimate excludes Afghanistan as the net additional costs of military operations, which include the extra fuel needed, are funded from the Treasury's Special Reserve in the year in which they fall. The forward estimates of the costs of Afghanistan we publish from time to time reflect broad planning assumptions rather than detailed analyses of individual expenditure areas.

Government Procurement Card

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the mean average spend using a Government Procurement Card was per member of staff in (a) his Department and (b) each of its arm's length bodies in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012;
	(2)  what guidance or instructions have been issued to staff in (a) his Department and (b) its arm's length bodies about the timing of the publication of data relating to spend over (i) £25,000 and (ii) £500 using the Government Procurement Card.

Mark Francois: Information on the mean average expenditure using a Government Procurement Card (GPC) per member of staff is not held. The mean average expenditure using a GPC per transaction was £200.75 for calendar year 2011 and £190.41 for calendar year 2012.
	These figures include the Ministry of Defence Trading Funds: Defence Science and Technical Laboratory (Dstl); Defence Support Group (DSG); and UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO).
	Data for transactions for expenditure over £25,000, and for GPC expenditure over £500 are published in accordance with the requirements of the Government's transparency policy. Detailed instruction has been promulgated in the Ministry of Defence publication ‘Transparency: Publication of Tenders and Contracts’, a revised version of which was published on 1 February 2013.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many investigations his Department has undertaken on the use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles in operations in Afghanistan since their deployment in that country.

Andrew Robathan: A wide range of investigations into the operation and employment of equipment, either in general or in response to specific incidents, can be initiated by various competent authorities, including the chain of command. These are not held centrally or in a form that would allow all investigations relevant to Reaper, the UK's only armed remotely piloted air system, to be identified.

Veterans: Plymouth

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will seek to provide support for service personnel who remain in Plymouth after leaving the armed services.

Mark Francois: All service leavers are entitled to support from the Ministry of Defence (MOD), no matter where they reside in the UK. Prior to leaving the armed forces all service leavers are entitled to resettlement training. The MOD also offers a Veterans Welfare Service which provides free, confidential and personal advice on a variety of financial, health, employment and welfare issues.
	We are not, however, complacent about the support we provide to veterans. In 2012, Lord Ashcroft was appointed as Special Representative for Veterans Transition. In this role he will provide the MOD with advice on how we can further support those leaving the armed forces. It is expected that Lord Ashcroft will produce an interim report to the Secretary of State for Defence by the end of 2013, with more comprehensive recommendations being made during 2014.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Pregnant Women

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many pregnant women in receipt of Section 95 support from the UK Border Agency were dispersed or relocated in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012;
	(2)  how many pregnant women in receipt of Section 4 support from the UK Border Agency were dispersed or relocated in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012.

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many pregnant women and new mothers in receipt of (a) Section 95 and (b) Section 4 support from the UK Border Agency attempted suicide in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011 and (iv) 2012;
	(2)  how many pregnant women were receiving (a) Section 95 and (b) Section 4 support from the UK Border Agency in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011 and (iv) 2012.

Mark Harper: The information could be provided only by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate cost.

Communications Data Bill (Draft)

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to publish the Communications Data Bill; and whether at the same time she will publish revised cost and impact assessments.

James Brokenshire: The Government are committed to legislating to ensure the law enforcement and intelligence agencies continue to have access to the communications data they need. The Joint Committee that scrutinised the Draft Bill recognised the importance of communications data as an investigative tool and accepted that there was a case for legislation which will provide the law enforcement authorities with some further access to communications data.
	A revised Communications Data Bill, incorporating the recommendations of the Joint Committee, will be introduced at the earliest possible opportunity.
	The revised impact assessment will be published alongside legislation as it is introduced to Parliament.

Detention Centres

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when (a) she or (b) Ministers in her Department last visited a detention centre.

Mark Harper: Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Entry Clearances

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa decisions were withdrawn by the UK Border Agency before they went to tribunal in 2012; and what the cost of those decisions was.

Mark Harper: A total of 11,637 (3.4%) out of country visa decisions were withdrawn by the UK Border Agency before they went to tribunal in 2012.
	(1) The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.
	(2) Figures relate to main applicants and dependants.
	(3) Figures for 2012 cover the period January to December 2012.
	(4) Figures extracted from the UK Border Agency's Central Reference System.
	It is not possible to estimate the cost associated with decisions withdrawn before an appearance is made before the tribunal, as this information has not been collated within the normal course of business and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many tier 4 immigration applications were not completed within three weeks in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: holding answer 14 February 2013
	Of the 234,715 tier 4 visa applications resolved overseas in 2012, 14,938 (6.4%) were not processed within three weeks. The remaining 219,777 (93.6%) tier 4 cases were completed within three weeks. The UK Border Agency service standard is to process 90% of visa applications within three weeks, so the service standard was exceeded in 2012.
	These data are based on internal UK Border Agency management information. They are provisional and subject to change.

Government Procurement Card

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) staff and (b) special advisers in her Department have use of a Government procurement card.

James Brokenshire: As of 1 January 2013, there were 596 staff that had use of a Government procurement card within the Home Department and its agencies. This figure has been almost halved since 2010, when the number of staff with Government procurement cards was at 1,082. Due to the way in which the data were collected in previous years, we do not have details for all agencies.
	No special advisers within the Home Department have use of a Government procurement card.

ICT

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) start date, (b) original planned completion date, (c) current expected completion date, (d) planned cost and (e) current estimated cost is for each information technology project over £5 million being undertaken by her Department and its agencies; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: From the information held centrally about Home Department's major projects there are three major information technology projects currently under way. Details of these projects are listed in the following table.
	The Home Department maintains close control over expenditure on information technology equipment between £5 million and £40 million. This is approved and monitored by each business area and is subject to regular central assurance. Work has been initiated to collate and verify the portfolio of information technology projects between £5 million and £40 million. Once this work is complete, the Home Department will follow-up with this information by way of a letter for the Library.
	
		
			 IT project Start Date Expected completion date Whole life planned cost (to nearest £ million) Current forecast whole life cost (to nearest £ million) 
			 Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) information systems operation technology April 2008 September 2013 399 401 
		
	
	
		
			      
			 Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) IT infrastructure replacement May-2008 May 2013 49 49 
			 Identity and Passport Service—transforming the customer experience May 2007 January 2014 194 186

Immigrants: Detainees

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department uses a risk-based assessment to determine whether to detain individuals at immigration removal centres; and if she will publish any relevant assessment criteria.

Mark Harper: Decisions to detain are taken on an individual basis in the light of all relevant circumstances known. The factors which should be considered and the guidance available to assist UK Border Agency officers in reaching these decisions are published in Chapter 55 of the Enforcement Instructions and Guidance.
	http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/enforcement/detentionandremovals/chapter55.pdf?view=Binary

Immigrants: Detainees

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy to set a maximum period of detention at immigration removal centres.

Mark Harper: There are no plans to set a maximum period for detention at immigration removal centres.

Immigration

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many (a) blue and (b) yellow immigration cards were issued to Romanian and Bulgarian citizens in each year since 2006;
	(2)  how many claims for (a) blue and (b) yellow immigration cards from Romanian and Bulgarian citizens are outstanding.

Mark Harper: The number of blue and yellow immigration cards issued to Romanian and Bulgarian citizens in each year since 1 January 2007 is shown in the following table. The cards were not introduced until Bulgaria and Romania acceded to the EU.
	
		
			 Bulgarian and Romanian blue and yellow registration certificates issued between 1 January 2007 to 30 September 2012 
			 Year of issue Blue route Yellow route Total 
			 2007 8,074 18,851 26,925 
			 2008 8,300 11,622 19,922 
			 2009 10,860 11,230 22,090 
			 2010 11,107 10,144 21,251 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 13,664 11,804 25,468 
			 2012 4,787 4,356 9,143 
			 Total 56,792 68,007 124,799 
			 Notes: 1. The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols. 2. Figures relate to main applicants and dependants. 3. Figures relate to A2 cases with decision despatched date between 1 January 2007 and 30 September 2012 and with a blue or yellow route outcome. 4. Figures for 2012 cover the period January to September 2012. 
		
	
	A blue or exempt card would be issued to a Bulgarian or Romanian applicant who is exempt from worker restrictions because they have completed 12 months legal employment in the UK, or they have applied under the Highly Skilled Migrant or International Graduate Schemes. Dependants of exempt applicants would also qualify under this category.
	A half blue card would be given to dependants of Bulgarian and Romanian applicants, where the applicant has proved that they are exercising their treaty rights. It entitles the dependants to work without restrictions in the UK.
	A yellow card would be issued to someone who has registered on the scheme through either self-employment, self-sufficient or the student routes. Students qualify for exemption if they have completed 12 months of legal employment.
	Outstanding applications are not categorised by the blue/yellow format until after a decision has been made. The information requested could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Immigration: Applications

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases at the UK Border Agency for (a) first time applications for family cases, (b) applications for extensions for visit visas and (c) settlement applications extensions following the two year probationary period are outstanding.

Mark Harper: The requested numbers of outstanding family, visit and settlement extension applications are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Applications awaiting decision by case type as of 27 January 2013 
			 Case type Total 
			 (a) Family(1) 24,549 
			 (b) Visiting the UK* 162 
			 (c) Settlement 29,766 
			 (1) Figures relating to ‘Family’ and ‘Visiting the UK’ applications relate to both first time applications and extensions. To disaggregate the data would incur disproportionate costs. Notes: 1. All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols. 2. Figures relate to main applicants only. 3. Figures relate to postal and premium applications, 4. Figures relate to applications pending a decision as of 27 January 2013. 5. Applications cannot be completed until we have received applicants' biometric data and it is sometimes necessary for us to undertake further checks on the evidence submitted in support of applications, or to request further evidence be submitted to clarify what is being claimed.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place within her Department to deal with breaches of the code of conduct for special advisers.

James Brokenshire: Matters relating to Special Advisers are handled in accordance with the Ministerial Code, the Model Contract and Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

National Crime Agency: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the operation of the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: We are committed to delivering a UK-wide crime fighting agency focused on tackling serious, organised and complex crime—including in Northern Ireland.
	In light of the Northern Ireland Executive's decision not to take forward legislative consent for the National Crime Agency, the Government are looking carefully at the provisions in Part 1 of the Crime and Courts Bill to see how they can best be modified so that the National Crime Agency will continue to tackle serious, organised and complex crime in Northern Ireland, focused on reserved/excepted activities so that the Bill does not require legislative consent.

Police: Croydon

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers were employed in the London Borough of Croydon in (i) July 2010, (ii) January 2011, (iii) July 2011, (iv) January 2012, (v) July 2012 and (vi) January 2013; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The available information provided to the Home Office shows that there were 755 police officers and 173 police community support officers (PCSOs) employed in the London borough of Croydon on 31 March 2010; and 736 police officers and 141 PCSOs employed on 31 March 2011. These figures are full-time equivalents and include those on maternity/paternity leave and career breaks.
	As these figures are collected for 31 March only, it is not possible to provide them for January and July. Furthermore, after 31 March 2011, all police personnel data below force level ceased to be collected by the Home Office, so figures for 31 March 2012 cannot be provided.
	
		
			 Number of police officers and police community support officers employed in the London borough of Croydon as at 31 March 2010 and 31 March 2011(1,2) 
			  Police officers Police community support officers 
			 31 March 2010 755 173 
			 31 March 2011 736 141 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Figures include those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Police: Ethnic Groups

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many black and minority ethnic police officers there were of each rank in each force in each year since 2006.

Damian Green: The tables show minority ethnic officer strength by police force area and rank as at 31 March for the years 2006 to 2012. These data are drawn from Table 7 of the Police Strength Bulletins and will be placed in the House Library.

Police: Pay

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to her recent changes in police pay arrangements, whether it is possible for a serving front line police officer to receive less gross pay in 2013 than in 2011.

Damian Green: There has been no reduction in basic salary for serving police officers. The recent implementation of recommendations from Tom Winsor's Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff Remuneration and Conditions involve changes to some of the additional payments and allowances received by police officers, retargeting pay to make the best use of all available resources. The effect on individual pay and allowance packages is not monitored centrally by the Home Office.

Police: Surveillance

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations were the subject of undercover operations by the (a) Special Demonstration Squad and (b) National Public Order Intelligence Union in which the identities of dead children were used.

Damian Green: The activities of the Metropolitan Police Special Demonstration Squad and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, including allegations of the use of the identities of dead children, are currently the subject of an investigation under the leadership of Chief Constable Mick Creedon of Derbyshire Police. That investigation, called Operation Herne, is being supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. It would be inappropriate to comment while that investigation is ongoing.

Police: Weapons

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the introduction and use of the Orcutt Police Nunchaku by police services in England and Wales.

Damian Green: The Home Office has made no assessment of the introduction and use of the Orcutt Police Nunchaku.

Seized Articles

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  with reference to the letter from the Minister for Immigration to the hon. Member for Witham of 15 November 2012 concerning a constituent Mr Andrew Ryman, whether officials will be instructed to (a) review the case and offer further compensation to Mr Ryman in relation to the wrongful seizure of his vehicle and (b) cover the full costs of repairing and recovering Mr Ryman's vehicle;
	(2)  how many people have had their (a) vehicles and (b) other property wrongfully seized by UK Border Force officials in each of the last five years; what the total value of (i) compensation and (ii) ex gratia payments made to such people was; and what the average time taken to settle each claim was;
	(3)  what steps she has put in place to ensure that all persons whose property is wrongfully seized by UK Border Force officials are promptly and fully compensated; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: holding answer 12 February 2013
	Officials have reviewed Mr Ryman's case and have agreed to offer compensation for recovery of the vehicle and replacement of its battery. A reply was sent to my hon. Friend from Border Force on 11 February 2012.
	The figures for the number of successful challenges vehicles/goods do not distinguish between vehicles and goods, as such total figures provided confirm the success rate as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  Border force successful Client successful 
			 December 2010 to March 2011 90.48 9.52 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 90.49 9.51 
			 April 2012 to date 93.47 6.53 
		
	
	The total value of ex gratia payment figures are only available from April 2010, and in that period to date the total value of ex gratia payments was: £328,941.10.
	Responsibility for determining the lawfulness of vehicle and property (goods) seizures sits with magistrates court, with successful challenges dealt with by way of an order for dismissal, not wrongful seizure. We are unable to give an average time to settle each claim as this will depend on negotiations with individuals to settle on agreed amount for ex gratia payment. On receipt of this ‘agreement' the National Post Seizure Unit would aim to process claim within five working days.

Taxis

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on taxis in 2011-12.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office spent £325,207.78 on taxis during 2011-12 just one third of the sum which it spent in 2008-09, under the previous Administration. Due to the restructuring of the Home Department over the past years, we do not have details for Identity and Passport Service, Criminal Records Bureau and National Fraud Authority for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 and the figures for these years do not include such organisations.
	
		
			  Taxis spend (£) 
			 2011-12 325,207.78 
			 2010-11 483,357.96 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 777,740.35 
			 2008-09 1,005,132.37 
		
	
	In addition the Home Office taxi policy summary states that staff should avoid using taxis wherever possible, using instead public transport, such as, where available, train, bus or tube and will be reimbursed for taxi fares only if the line manager is satisfied that the cost was incurred out of necessity.

Violence Against Women and Girls Ministerial Group

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Ministers are members of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Violence Against Women and Girls; on how many occasions this group has met since May 2010; and on how many occasions this group has discussed the provision of relationship education in schools.

Jeremy Browne: The Violence Against Women and Girls Inter-Ministerial Group is chaired by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), and has met on a quarterly basis since May 2010.
	The Members are:
	Home Secretary—Chair
	Minister for Crime Prevention
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Public Health
	Joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice and for Women and Equalities
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Work and Pensions
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Government Spokesperson, Wales Office
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Transport
	Spokesperson in the House of Lords on International Development and Government Whip
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Department for International Development
	Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; and Minister for Women and Equalities
	Solicitor-General
	Minister of State for Northern Ireland
	Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	The aims of the meetings are to monitor progress against our cross-Government Action Plan, which includes actions on provision of relationship education in schools.

Violent and Sex Offender Register

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions are in place so that serious sex offenders are placed on the Violent and Sex Offenders Register if they have a conviction for a serious sexual offence that predates the Sex Offenders Act 1997.

Jeremy Browne: There is a range of legislative options available to the police to manage sex offenders. The police can apply for offenders convicted of an offence under Schedule 3 or 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to be made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) if that individual has demonstrated, since their conviction, that they pose a risk of serious sexual harm to the public. This includes individuals convicted prior to 1 September 1997.
	SOPOs are intended to protect the public from the risks posed by sex offenders by placing restrictions on their behaviour. Any individual subject to a SOPO will also be required to notify their personal details with the police (commonly referred to as the ‘sex offenders' register) for the duration of the Order.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Atos Healthcare

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of (a) the Atos Healthcare average clearance target and (b) the performance of Atos against that target in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012.

Mark Hoban: Atos Healthcare are not contractually accountable for a national employment and support allowance (ESA) target. Contractually there are a number of Actual Average Clearance Targets (AACT) for the various medical services, varying in how they are measured between the Department and Atos Healthcare.
	The contracted service level is to clear ESA medical assessments with an AACT of 35 working days. Although there is no formal AACT for Incapacity Benefit Reassessments (IBR), DWP monitor performance against the same target for ESA. Please see following table for AACT performance from January 2011 to December 2012.
	
		
			  AACT 
			  ESA IBR 
			 January 2011 36.7 (1)— 
			 February 2011 33.3 (1)— 
			 March 2011 31.8 (1)— 
			 April 2011 33 (1)— 
			 May 2011 33.2 (1)— 
			 June 2011 34.5 29.2 
			 July 2011 38.6 36.9 
			 August 2011 42.6 41.9 
			 September 2011 49.7 42.7 
			 October 2011 57.1 42.7 
			 November 2011 62.8 43.3 
			 December 2012 63.9 43.0 
			 January 2012 65.0 43.4 
			 February 2012 67.5 43.6 
			 March 2012 63.0 43.4 
			 April 2012 58.9 44.4 
			 May 2012 58.7 43.2 
			 June 2012 56.6 43.5 
			 July 2012 53.5 44.1 
			 August 2012 52.0 45.1 
			 September 2012 51.7 46.1 
			 October 2012 48.9 43.9 
			 November 2012 46.7 41.3 
		
	
	
		
			 December 2012 45.4 40.7 
			 (1) No data available. Source: ESA AACT Clearance Distribution Reports (national) 
		
	
	Following the Department's acceptance of Professor Harrington's recommendations, the introduction of the Personal Summary Statement (PSS) in 2011 had a major impact on the Actual Average Clearance Target (AACT) for Work Capability Assessment clearances. The introduction of the PSS resulted in an increase to the Medical Standard Time, ie the time taken on average to conduct a face to face medical assessment, which reduced the capacity to deliver planned numbers of assessments.
	Following on from this, Atos Healthcare has continued to deliver a service which has seen a reduction in their performance against the clearance targets.
	DWP and Atos Healthcare meet formally on a monthly basis to discuss performance and agree improvement activity with the aim of achieving the 35 day AACT.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the effect on overall housing benefit spending of households moving from the social rented sector to the private rented sector following the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty.

Steve Webb: This information is not available.
	The potential impacts on costs and savings of tenants leaving the property they are under-occupying are complex and subject to a great deal of uncertainty. They depend partly on the accommodation to which the tenant moves and the accommodation from which the new tenant taking up their property comes.
	An assessment of behavioural change is included in the impact assessment which can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf

Housing Benefit

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who are likely to apply to local authorities for the discretionary housing payment in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015 in (i) Glasgow North West constituency, (ii) Glasgow, (iii) Scotland and (iv) the UK.

Steve Webb: The information is not available.
	Guidance will be provided to local authorities on allocating discretionary housing payments, but the funding is for them to use at their discretion based on local needs.

Housing Benefit

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what allocations he has given to local authorities to cover discretionary housing payment applications in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

Steve Webb: Information at constituency level is not available for (a).
	In 2013/14 the total of the Government contribution towards discretionary housing payments allocated to (b) Glasgow is £2,979,970, (c) Scotland is £10,019,443 and (d) Great Britain is £155 million. Information is not available for the UK and the Department for Work and Pensions' remit concerning discretionary housing payments does not cover Northern Ireland.
	In addition to the Government contribution, local authorities can add to their expenditure on discretionary housing payments, up to a maximum so that their overall expenditure does not exceed 2.5 times their Government contribution for that year.

Housing Benefit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what data was requested by his Department from local authorities to help inform the decision on the allocation of discretionary housing payment; and if he will publish any such data.

Steve Webb: No data were requested from local authorities.
	The basis on which the various elements of discretionary housing payment funds for 2013-14 were distributed to local authorities are described in a housing benefit circular, which can be found at
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/s1-2013.pdf

Housing Benefit

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer from the Prime Minister to the right hon. Member for Doncaster North of 6 February 2013, Official Report, columns 269-70, how much the Government have allocated as a contingency fund to help households adversely affected by new rules on under-occupancy; how much of this fund has been allocated to Hull; how many households in Hull he expects this sum to support; and what guidance he has issued to local authorities on how to distribute such funding.

Steve Webb: On top of the baseline funding of £20 million an additional £30 million has been distributed to local authorities across Great Britain as the Government's contribution to discretionary housing payments in 2013/14 for those affected by the under-occupancy charge. The amount distributed to the city of Kingston upon Hull was £284,436 and the number of households helped by this fund will depend on local authorities’ decisions on its use. Local authorities have discretion to spend up to 2.5 times the Government contribution in total.
	Guidance will be provided to local authorities on allocating discretionary housing payments, but the funding is for them to use at their discretion based on local needs.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who will be affected by the under-occupancy penalty by (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.
	Estimates of numbers affected by the under-occupation measure at national and regional level are available in the impact assessment:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf

Independent Living Fund

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he has given to local authorities on the protection of budgets for the Independent Living Fund once this fund is transferred to local authority control in 2015.

Esther McVey: Following the closure of the Independent Living Fund (ILF) on 31 March 2015, local authorities in England will have sole responsibility for meeting the eligible care and support needs of current ILF users, in line with their statutory responsibilities. The devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will determine how ILF users in each of those parts of the UK are supported within their distinct care and support systems.
	The Government recognise the importance of making the transition as smooth as possible to avoid unnecessary disruption to ILF users' lives. DWP, the ILF and the social care sector in England will over the course of 2014 co-produce a code of practice, which will guide local authorities on how ILF users can best be supported through the transition and set out guidance on how local authorities can best support users through transition. The ILF will also work with the devolved Administrations to develop and communicate guidance where applicable.
	The devolved funding will be distributed proportionately between the local authorities in England and the devolved Administrations on the basis of the pattern of expenditure in 2014-15. From 1 April 2015 local authorities will be required to meet the care and support needs of former ILF users in line with their statutory duties to assess and fund care needs.
	From April 2013, the ILF will start to deliver a two-year programme of reviews to ensure that every user has individually-agreed arrangements in place for transferring their care packages to local authorities. This will ensure that local authorities have a clear picture of how ILF users' funding is being used and the outcomes being secured though their care packages.

Personal Independence Payment

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will reconsider the decision to remove those with dementia to be subject to reassessments for personal independence payments after an initial two year award when it is clear that their condition is not going to improve; and what assessment he has made of the potential risk of mental distress to patient and carers as a result of his current policy in this area.

Esther McVey: We will take a personalised approach to setting the length of awards, varying the frequency and format of awards and reviews, depending on the individual's needs and the likelihood of their health condition or impairment changing. While in some cases short-term awards of one or two years may be appropriate, we have been clear that longer-term awards will be made in cases where the claimant's needs are expected to remain relatively stable or change slowly. Ongoing awards will be made in some cases where significant change in the claimant's needs is very unlikely.
	All awards, regardless of duration, will be reviewed periodically to ensure that the individual continues to receive the correct amount of benefit. Awards will be reviewed in a proportionate way with consideration given to the circumstances of the individual.
	Reviews of benefit awards will not always require a face-to-face consultation. Where there is enough evidence individuals will not be required to attend a consultation, and their claim will be reviewed on a paper basis. However, these decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis, as impairments can affect people in very different ways. Individuals that are asked to attend a face-to-face consultation will be able to bring with them a relation, friend or possibly a professional who supports them, in order to support them or help them manage any anxiety they may feel.

Personal Independence Payment

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the value of codifying the phrase reliably, repeatedly, safely and in a timely fashion into the assessment criteria for personal independence payment; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: We have always been clear that a key principle of the personal independence payment assessment is that it should include a consideration of whether individuals can complete activities in a manner that is safe, repeatable, to an acceptable standard and timely. We do not feel that this principle has to be included in the legislation to be effective. However, recognising the strength of feeling in relation to this key protection, the Government has agreed to include it in regulations. We will lay amending regulations making this change, once the current regulations have been made and before the PIP regulations come into force from 8 April.
	A draft of the amending regulation is available on the DWP website at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/disability/personal-independence-payment/the-assessment-criteria

Child Poverty

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration his Department is giving to (a) the strategy A New Approach to Child Poverty published in April 2011, (b) the report of the Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances undertaken by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead, (c) the outcomes of children and young people in the NHS Outcomes Framework and (d) the Government's commitments to the Europe 2020 strategy in its response to the measuring child poverty consultation.

Esther McVey: The consultation on new measures of child poverty closed on 15 February and we are now analysing responses before deciding on the next steps. We remain committed to tackling child poverty. Our new measures intend to identify the causes of poverty so that they may be directly addressed rather than simply attempting to treat the consequences. We remain committed to the Child Poverty Act, and are continuing to implement the 2011 strategy, which built on the report by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field), in advance of the next one due in 2014.
	The Government are committed to eradicating child poverty and improving public health, and will ensure that any new measures of child poverty reflect the NHS Outcomes Framework effectively.
	The Government's commitment to the Europe 2020 strategy is in line with its commitment to the Child Poverty Act 2010, and to eradicating child poverty. We firmly believe that only by recognising and addressing the causes of child poverty can we ensure that children's lives are truly improved and eradicate child poverty.

Poverty: Disabled

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the effect of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 on the number of disabled people living in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty in each year to 2020;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the effect of the uprating of social security benefits and tax credits by one per cent on the number of disabled people living in relative poverty in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

Steve Webb: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to my answer to his earlier question (PQ 141901) on 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 508W.
	A breakdown of the relative impacts of the uprating of social security benefits and tax credits by one per cent on the number of disabled people living in relative poverty for individual years is available only at disproportionate cost.

Social Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he proposes that (a) council and (b) housing association-owned accommodation, used to provide temporary accommodation, will be subject to the social sector size criteria.

Steve Webb: People who are accepted as homeless under the Housing Act 1996 and placed in temporary accommodation by either (a) the local authority or (b) a housing association will not be subject to size criteria.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) complaints made by the public regarding fraudulent benefit claims are thoroughly investigated by his Department and (b) steps are taken to prosecute when evidence of benefit fraud is found.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) treats all allegations of reported benefit fraud seriously. Where suspected fraud or error is found the allegation is electronically routed to either the Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) or the Customer Compliance (CC) sections. CC deal with lower risk cases where a full criminal investigation is judged unnecessary, enabling FIS to focus on higher risk frauds.
	The process of investigation of benefit fraud is robust. A fraud investigation is conducted through all legal means that are available to use. These include gathering evidence, surveillance, analysis and interviewing under caution.
	Investigations may be directed towards the Fraud Investigation Service Organised (FIS (O)) teams, who tackle more serious frauds such as bulk theft of Government resources, counterfeiting and forgeries.
	FIS investigate their cases to the criminal standard of proof and their objective is to uncover the full extent of the fraud. When deciding whether prosecution is appropriate every case is judged on its own merits, but when the gross overpayment is substantial, prosecution is normally the preferred course of action. As a national guideline if the gross adjudicated overpayment is above £2,000, the case is normally considered for prosecution from the outset. However cases less than this amount are not excluded from prosecution as there may be other factors which lead to prosecution action.
	The ultimate decision to prosecute is that of the Prosecution Authority for DWP which is the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland and the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales.

Social Security Benefits: Greater London

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2013, Official Report, column 403W, on social security benefits: Greater London, what budget has been assigned to communicate (a) date of the benefit cap implementation and (b) the existence of the dedicated helpline to affected claimants in (i) Bromley, (ii) Croydon, (iii) Enfield and (iv) Haringey.

Mark Hoban: We are unable to apportion cost to communicating the date of the benefit cap implementation or the dedicated helpline to affected claimants in Bromley, Croydon, Enfield and Haringey.

State Retirement Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 510W, on state retirement pensions, what proportion of people would receive an amount greater than £144 per week should the current system remain in place.

Steve Webb: holding answer 25 February 2013
	State pension outcomes under the current two-tier system vary widely. By contrast, under single tier the large majority of pensioners could expect to retire on the full weekly amount of single-tier pension.
	The Department's modelling suggests that if the current system were to remain in place, around 35% of people reaching state pension age in the 20 years between 2017 and 2037 would receive more than the illustrative £144 per week single-tier amount.
	Under the proposed single-tier pension, around 70% of this group would receive an amount equal to or greater than the full single-tier amount.
	These figures are based on the illustrative start date and single-tier amount as set out in the White Paper. Final decisions will be made nearer to the date of implementation.
	Source:
	DWP modelling based on PENSIM2

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to appoint a successor to Professor Malcolm Harrington as independent reviewer of the work capability assessment.

Mark Hoban: On 26 February 2013 DWP announced that Dr Paul Litchfield would succeed Professor Malcolm Harrington as the independent reviewer of the work capability assessment:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-vote-office/February_2013/26-Feb-2013/5.DWP-Independent-Review-WCA-Year4.pdf
	We are committed to continually improving the work capability assessment, and look forward to receiving Dr Litchfield's report before the end of 2013.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information is collected about whether people on the Work programme classified as being in self-employment are engaged in work which falls within the normal definition of paid employment.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 25 February 2013
	All job outcome payments, including self-employment, are subject to the DWP payment validation process. Checks are made to ensure individuals are (a) not in receipt of benefit (b) that they are in work each week for the required period in accordance with the definition and (c) are self-employed. The Department does not collect information specifically on whether the self-employment falls within the definition of paid employment.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Work programme in supporting homeless people into employment.

Mark Hoban: This information is currently not available. The Work programme evaluation report includes a focused qualitative study of participants with accommodation problems. Early findings will be available this summer.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Work programme in supporting problematic drug users into employment.

Mark Hoban: This information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many sustainment payments were paid to Work programme providers in each month since September 2011; and how many of the individuals in respect of whom sustainment payments were made entered self-employment on leaving the Work programme;
	(2)  how many job outcome payments were paid to Work programme providers in each month since September 2011; and how many of the individuals in respect of whom job outcome payments were made entered self-employment on leaving the Work programme.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on how many sustainment and job outcome payments were paid to Work programme providers in each month since September 2011 can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
	Statistics on how many of the individuals in respect of whom sustainment and job outcome payments were made entered self-employment on leaving the Work programme are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

EDUCATION

Schools: Capital Investment

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria were used to assess which schools would be part of the pilot scheme for the new school building procurement programme.

David Laws: On 24 May, the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), announced that 261 schools will be rebuilt, or have their condition needs met, through the Priority School Building programme. The key criterion for deciding which schools were successful in their application to the programme was condition need.
	The Secretary of State also confirmed that those schools in the very worst condition and all special schools included within the programme would be taken forward using capital grant.
	To ensure value for money for the public sector, the prioritised schools have been grouped together in “batches” to drive strong competition and deliver value for money to the public purse. The process to group the schools has taken into account a number of factors including condition, geography and commercial viability.
	The programme will be delivered over a number of years and we have had to ensure that the process used to determine when each school's condition needs will be addressed was robust and fair. As far as possible the schools in the worst condition will be addressed first.
	The Department is currently working with all eight batches of capital funded schools and has already received bids from the market for two of these batches; one in the North East and one in the Midlands.
	The Department is also working with three batches of privately financed schools. Development work on one of these batches is further advanced and released to the market in the spring. The other batches will go to the market as soon as they are ready to be released.

Schools: Playing Fields

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to his answer of 17 September 2012, Official Report, column 488W, on schools: playing fields, if he will publish the detailed recommendations of the Schools Playing Fields Advisory Panel in all cases where his Department has overruled its recommendations since June 2010.

David Laws: holding answer 17 October 2013
	The role of the Schools Playing Fields Advisory Panel is to provide advice to Ministers and the Secretary of State on applications from local authorities and schools to dispose of school playing field land. We do not in end to publish the panel's specific advice to Ministers.
	It is crucial that Ministers, the advisory panel and officials be allowed space to develop their thinking and explore what might be a wide range of options. Publishing the information requested could distort or restrain future dialogue. There is a risk that, in future, not all options would be considered because of the possibility of advice being published. As a result, the quality and range of advice to Ministers could be reduced.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of sources of emissions to air in the UK which are on a rising trend which are (a) particulates, (b) hexavalent chromium, (c) ammonia, (d) arsenic, (e) nitrogen dioxide, (f) black carbon and (g) hydrofluorocarbons; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 25 February 2013
	The UK Government compile a National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) annually. Air pollutants estimated through this inventory include (a) particulates, (b) chromium, (c) ammonia, (d) arsenic and (e) oxides of nitrogen. Emissions are not routinely estimated for hexavalent chromium or primary emissions of nitrogen dioxide. However, an inventory of black carbon is under development.
	The NAEI estimates for air pollutants are compiled following the guidelines published jointly by the European Environment Agency and UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollutants. Each year the inventory is updated with the latest data available. Emissions estimates of fine and coarse particulates (PM2.5 and PM10), ammonia, and oxides of nitrogen for the years up to 2011 were published as National Statistics on 18 December 2012. The remaining inventory data, including chromium and arsenic, were submitted to the UNECE on 15 February 2013 and are available on the UNECE website at:
	http://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/gb/un/cols3f2jg
	The UK data will be available in more detail from the NAEI website at:
	http://naei.defra.gov.uk
	The UK compiles an annual national inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, including hydrofluorocarbons, in accordance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. As per the NAIE, this inventory is annually updated to include latest data available. Greenhouse gas emissions statistics for 1990 to 2011 were published on 5 February.
	Emissions of ammonia, arsenic and hydrofluorocarbons have risen slightly in recent years (although emissions of ammonia have remained within their NECD ceiling). However, there have been continued declines in emission for particles including black carbon, as well as declines in chromium and oxides of nitrogen.

Food: Labelling

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with his ministerial counterpart in the Republic of Ireland on food labelling and provenance policy issues since 4 February 2013; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with his ministerial counterparts in the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland on food labelling and provenance policy issues since 5 February 2013; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with his ministerial counterparts in Agriculture in Northern Ireland on food labelling and provenance policy issues since 5 February 2013; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: DEFRA and the Food Standards Agencies (FSA) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland meet regularly to discuss issues related to food labelling and provenance, to exchange information and to co-ordinate our work on common areas of interest. DEFRA and the FSA have had daily contact at a high level since 14 January to discuss the specific issue of horse and pig DNA found in meat products.
	The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), met the Irish Agriculture Minister, Simon Coveney, on 30 January and asked to be kept informed of progress on this issue. Michelle O'Neil has been included in telephone conferences and there has been regular contact at official level.
	The FSA and DEFRA are monitoring the information as it emerges, both from our investigations and that of the food companies concerned, and will consider the use of legal action should that become appropriate.

Pesticides

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice his Department will give to UK members of the Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health in respect of its meeting on 25 February 2013 to decide on the use of neonicotinoids.

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to vote for a partial ban on neonicotinoids at the upcoming EU regulators branch meeting on 25 February 2013.

David Heath: The European Commission has made a draft proposal for regulatory action on neonicotinoid insecticides which is scheduled for discussion at the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health meeting on 14-15 March 2013. The Government will consider this carefully.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average council tax per adult and per dwelling in 2012-13 is for residents in predominantly rural counties and unitaries of all types and for residents in predominantly urban counties and unitaries of all types.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 18 January 2013
	The average area council tax per dwelling for billing authorities in shire areas and unitaries by rural classification for 2012-13 is given as follows.
	
		
			 (£ per dwelling) 
			 Billing authority Unitaries Shire areas 
			 Predominantly Urban 1,110 1,271 
			 Significant Rural 1,339 1,312 
			 Predominantly Rural 1,260 1,356 
			 Note: The table is derived using the DEFRA urban/rural classifications for counties and unitaries. The classification is based on the level of the billing authority—i.e. the district tier in two-tier areas. It is not adjusted for the rurality of the precepting authorities, which may make up the majority of the council tax bill. 
		
	
	These figures reflect the fact that under the last Administration, council tax bills rose the most in shire areas. Across England as a whole, average Band D council tax bills rose by 109% from 1997-98 to 2010-11, whereas they rose by 124% in shire counties, 80% in metropolitan boroughs, 101% in London boroughs and 109% in unitary councils.
	The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2013-14 is fair to all parts of the country—rural and urban. It is the first settlement that reflects an entirely new financial relationship between central and local government, providing an incentive for all councils to increase their incomes. We made a number of adjustments to relative needs formulae to reflect the greater cost of providing services in rural areas, and we have introduced a new £8.5 million Efficiency Support for Services in Sparse Areas grant in 2013-14.

Council Tax

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of whether the introduction of new higher council tax bands would require a revaluation.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 27 February 2013
	We have no plans to introduce new council tax bands. We have ruled out a revaluation in this Parliament. Notwithstanding, as Ministers have repeatedly observed (eg 20 November 2012, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA338), new council tax bands would require a council tax revaluation.
	This point was also made by Ministers in the last Administration, who when asked if re-banding would require a partial or full revaluation, noted that re-banding would not be practicable without a general revaluation (5 January 2010, Official Report, column 213W).
	The experience from Wales under the last Administration is instructive. The introduction of a new top council tax band in Wales in 2005 (‘Band I’) went hand in hand with revaluation. The revaluation and re-banding saw four times as many homes move up one or more bands as move down. Many homes jumped multiple bands upwards, and the new Band I contained homes from amongst all of the previous lower bands, reflecting the fact that one cannot just split an existing top band or bands. The biggest increase in the tax burden fell on homes originally in Bands A to C.
	Unlike business rates or the old domestic rates, council tax is a banded system that does not require precise valuations of each property. There has been no legislative requirement for listing officers to calculate point valuations of each dwelling. As Ministers explained when council tax was established:
	‘the Government take the view that the individual valuation of dwellings for the council tax would be unnecessary, expensive and, because of the spurious accuracy of such valuations—in other words, within a band—vulnerable to unwarranted appeals’
	(21 January 1992, Official Report, House of Lords, column 794). Consequently, one cannot reliably tell how or where an existing band or bands could be split or changed without a full revaluation.
	Re-banding without revaluation would also fail to take into account relative changes in property prices, and fail to consider material changes in properties since the last valuation. It would lead to a situation where identical homes with the same (new) capital value fell into different bands in the new system, discrediting the whole exercise, leading to a mass of appeals and challenges, and creating a fundamental unfairness about the arbitrary and capricious nature of the new tax regime.
	Indeed, as Adam Smith asserted in “The Wealth of Nations”, before noting the inequities of an additional new tax on the taxpayers of Montauban without a fresh valuation,
	“The tax which each individual is bound to pay ought to be certain, and not arbitrary... Where it is otherwise, every person subject to the tax is put more or less in the power of the tax-gathered, who can either aggravate the tax upon any obnoxious contributor, or extort, by the terror of such aggravation, some present or perquisite to himself. The uncertainty of taxation encourages the insolence and favours the corruption of an order of men who are naturally unpopular, even where they are neither insolent nor corrupt.”

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who his Department's cycling champion is.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Transport has the overall lead on cycling policy. I have responsibility for cycling in the Department. My Department is committed to the Cycle to Work Guarantee and has recently re-launched the Cycle to Work scheme. My Department will also be working to help support local communities, business and councils to get the best from the fantastic opportunity presented by the staging of the Tour de France grand depart in 2014.

Empty Property: Pendle

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of empty homes and to support housing regeneration in Pendle constituency.

Mark Prisk: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to a question from the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, on 11 December 2012, Official Report, House Of Lords, columns WA218-9.
	In addition to £160 million the Government have already committed to bringing over 11,200 empty homes back into use, on 26 November 2012, we launched a bidding round to bring a further 5,000 empty homes back into use using a share of £300 million announced in the housing and growth package.
	Pendle borough council has been awarded over £2.35 million to bring 227 empty homes back into use by March 2015.
	The 2013-14 new homes bonus provisional allocation for Pendle borough council will total £372,612. This includes instalments from years one, two and three of £101,765, £92,127 and £179,420 respectively. The year three instalment will be paid for six years; and includes an affordable homes premium of £7,280.

Greater London Authority

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hectares of former (a) London Development Agency and (b) Homes and Communities Agency assets were transferred to the Greater London Authority in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; what the value was of such assets; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: All of the London Development Agency's assets were transferred to the Greater London Authority under a transfer scheme when it was abolished on 31 March 2012. As the London Development Agency was a Mayoral functional body and not a non-departmental public body, the Department has no records on the number of the hectares of land which were transferred. The London Development Agency's closing accounts are available on the Greater London Authority's website at
	http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/LDA_Closing_Financial_Statements_2011-12.pdf
	Property assets totalling 240 hectares (gross) and valued at £263 million were transferred from the Homes and Communities Agency to the Greater London Authority in April 2012 following the commencement of the Localism Act 2011.
	The Localism Act conferred on the Mayor of London responsibility for housing, economic development and Olympic legacy in London, in addition to existing responsibilities over transport, planning and the police.

Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of funding available under the Housing Guarantee Scheme he expects to be allocated to affordable housing.

Mark Prisk: There are two housing guarantee schemes: the Affordable Housing Guarantee scheme and the Private Rented Sector Guarantee scheme. Some £3.5 billion has been made available for each, with £3 billion held in reserve for allocation to either scheme depending on demand. These figures are indicative. Moreover, the total of £10 billion is a limit, not a target.
	The Affordable Housing Guarantee is also supported by up to £225 million capital grant, and additional asset management flexibilities along the same principles as the 2011-15 Affordable Homes programme. The prospectus for this fund was published on 27 February and can be found at:
	www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/affordable-homes-guarantees-programme

Housing: Older People

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he intends to provide a higher new homes bonus rate to encourage the building of specialist accommodation for older people by local authorities.

Mark Prisk: We do not have any plans to introduce a higher rate of New Homes Bonus grant for this type of specialist accommodation.
	Bonus grant is given in respect of net increases of all types of housing stock, with a £350 premium for each affordable home. It is for local planning authorities to identify and plan to meet the objectively assessed needs of their communities.

Housing: Older People

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to support the delivery of specialist housing for older people in their local plans.

Mark Prisk: The National Planning Policy Framework, which was published on 27 March 2012, asks local planning authorities to ensure that their local plan meets the full, objectively assessed needs for market and affordable housing in their housing market area. Local planning authorities should as a result deliver a wide choice of homes and plan for a mix of housing based on demographic trends and the needs of different groups in the communities, such as older people.
	It is therefore for local authorities to determine—by engaging with their communities and key partners—the type of housing that is needed in their area for older people.

Housing: Older People

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the success of the New Deal for Older People announced in his Housing Strategy of November 2011; and what further measures are planned as part of this New Deal;
	(2)  what analysis his Department has undertaken on the role of specialist housing for older people in reducing adult social care costs for local authorities; and what steps he is taking to encourage the development of this form of accommodation.

Mark Prisk: In 2011, the Government outlined their new deal for older people's housing in “Laying the Foundations: A housing Strategy for England”. Since publication, the Government have published the National Planning Policy Framework and we have invested in FirstStop's National Service to provide information and advice to help people make informed choices on their housing and care options in later life. In addition, the Government continue to fund the Disabled Facilities Grant and provide funding for Handypersons services which supports elderly people to remain at home longer. Over the last two years, the Government injected a further £60 million into the Grant.
	An analysis of the role of specialist housing can be found in the Department's Lifetime Neighbourhoods report which showcases how local authorities and their partners can design and make changes to neighbourhoods to ensure that they take account of the changing needs of older people throughout their lives. The report can be accessed at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lifetime-neighbourhoods--2
	The Department has also published research on the costs and benefits of lifetime homes and also published the independent evaluation of handypersons services by the University of York in January 2012. The independent evaluation shows that these services offer value for money, enabling older people to live independently and alleviating the need for other more costly services.
	Other measures to stimulate the development of more specialist housing options for older people include the Government setting up a new care and support housing fund, which will provide £300 million of capital funding from 2013-14 to 2014-15 to encourage providers to develop new specialist accommodation options for older people.
	The National Planning Policy Framework, which was published on 27 March 2012, asks local planning authorities to ensure that their local plan meets the full, objectively assessed needs for market and affordable housing in their housing market area. Local planning authorities should as a result deliver a wide choice of homes and plan for a mix of housing based on demographic trends and the needs of different groups in the communities, such as older people.

Incinerators

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent in relation to bids under the private finance initiative for (a) the planned Allerton Waste Recovery Park incinerator, (b) the planned Bradford waste incinerator and (c) the planned Liverpool waste incinerator.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not spent any money in relation to bids under the private finance initiative for (a) the planned Allerton Waste Recovery Park incinerator, (b) the planned Bradford waste incinerator and (c) the planned Liverpool waste incinerator.

Xfor Group

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the behaviour of Xfor in giving on-the-spot fines.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 11 February 2013
	My Department has not made an official assessment, but I am aware that this issue has attracted widespread public concern. I would make the following observations:
	Those who harm the environment by shamelessly littering and fly-tipping should be brought to book.
	However, councils should not be using residents as cash cows and should not be persecuting people for petty or insignificant breaches.
	It is not in the public interest to issue a fixed penalty notice where there is not clear evidence that the individual intended to cause litter.
	Enforcement action is better targeted at problem areas, rather than applied across a whole local authority area.
	The issuing of fixed penalty notices or fines is a quasi-judicial matter. Commercial contracts which are based on the volume of penalties issued, or on a fixed amount of revenue to be raised, are likely to undermine public confidence in a fair judicial system and potentially undermine the quality of justice itself. Indeed, this principle is recognised in guidance to councils on parking fines: ‘Performance and rewards/penalties should never be based on the number of Penalty Charge Notices, immobilisations or removals' (DFT, ‘Operational Guidance to Local Authorities: Parking Policy and Enforcement’, November 2010, para 4.12).
	Where external contractors are used, ultimately, the responsibility still lies with the local authorities to ensure that legal powers are exercised fairly and reasonably and civil liberties are respected; councillors should regularly scrutinise the operation of such contracts; and the broader use of such powers must command and continue to command public support.
	There are many other ways for councils to tackle litter, such as the use of warnings, education campaigns, the helpful provision of litter bins and the regular collection of rubbish bins by the local authority.

JUSTICE

Family Courts

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to improve transparency in the family courts.

Helen Grant: The Government believe that there is a need for greater openness in the operation of the family courts. We have already made considerable improvements by publishing much more information about local court performance. In line with the recommendation of the Justice Select Committee, flawed legislation to open up the family courts to media scrutiny is being repealed; however, we are carefully considering other options to allow for greater openness while respecting the parties right to privacy. Our objective is to use the creation of the new Single Family Court as an opportunity to correct the perception that family courts are unjustifiably secret.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what plans his Department has to publish an evaluation of the justice reinvestment pilots in Greater Manchester and London boroughs;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the interim results of the justice reinvestment pilot in Southwark.

Jeremy Wright: The Justice Reinvestment pilots aim to incentivise local statutory partners to reduce demand on courts, legal aid, prisons and probation and consequently reduce costs to the justice system.
	Year one of the pilot ran from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012 and the results were published in November 2012, and can be found at:
	Statistical release
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/ad-hoc
	Explanatory note
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/transparency-data/justice-reinvestment-pilots-first-year-results
	The MOJ currently plans to publish an initial report from a process evaluation of the Justice Reinvestment pilots in April 2013. A second and final report will be published in July 2014.

Repossession Orders

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many homes were repossessed in (a) Pendle constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.

Helen Grant: The following table shows the numbers of claims leading to orders for the repossession of property by mortgage lenders and landlords in (a) Pendle constituency (b) Lancashire county and (c) England and Wales between 2008 and 2012. The Ministry of Justice holds information for England and Wales and not the United Kingdom.
	The table also shows the number of claims leading to the repossession of property by county court bailiffs in England and Wales.
	Information regarding the repossession of property by county court bailiffs is not available for Pendle constituency or for Lancashire county. Information is also not held on the total number of repossessions as these can occur without a court order, such as where borrowers hand the keys back to the lender. Also, not all possession orders result in repossession. Many orders are suspended and if the borrower complies with the repayment arrangements set out in the suspended order, the property will not be repossessed.
	Information on the number of claims leading to orders made is more accurate than the number of orders, removing the double-counting of instances where a single claim leads to more than one order. It is also a more meaningful measure of the number of homeowners who are subject to court repossession actions.
	The most recent data for claims leading to orders figures for all regions and local authority areas in England and Wales were recently published on 14 February 2013. This statistical bulletin is available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/civil-justice/mortgage-possession.htm
	In addition statistics on mortgage and landlord possession claims leading to orders made in the county courts of England and Wales, 2000-11—breakdown by parliamentary constituencies—is available in the House of Commons Library.
	
		
			 Number of mortgage(1) and landlord(2, 3 )possession claims leading to orders and repossession(4, 5, 6) for properties in (a) Pendle constituency (b) Lancashire county and (c) England and Wales(7, 8 )between 2008-12 
			 Mortgage possession claims leading to: 
			  (a) An order being made (b) Repossession by county court bailiff 
			  Pendle constituency Lancashire county England and Wales England and Wales 
			 2008 229 2,854 111,763 35,392 
			 2009 181 1,850 72,235 32,208 
			 2010 154 1,462 56,968 23,425 
			 2011 140 1,615 55,218 25,185 
			 2012 108 1,304 44,331 19,564 
		
	
	
		
			 Landlord possession claims leading to: 
			  (a) An order being made (b) Repossession by county court bailiff 
			  Pendle constituency Lancashire county England and Wales England and Wales 
			 2008 56 1,699 100,813 31,933 
			 2009 62 1,452 92,894 27,783 
			 2010 62 1,404 90,842 27,730 
			 2011 58 1,438 97,815 31,556 
			 2012 69 1,420 103,330 33,813 
			 (1) Includes all types of mortgage lenders. (2) Includes all types of landlord whether social or private. (3) Landlord actions include those made under both standard and accelerated procedures. Landlord actions via the accelerated procedure enables the orders to be made solely on the basis of written evidence for short hold tenancies, when the fixed period of tenancy has come to an end. (4) The number of claims that lead to an order includes all claims in which the first order, whether outright or suspended, is made during the period. (5) The court, following a judicial decision, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (6) Includes outright and suspended orders, the latter being where the court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually require the defendant to pay the current mortgage or rent instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (7) Due to constituency boundary changes after 6 May 2012 UK parliamentary general election, the figures prior to 2010 Q1 (January-March) are based on the old boundaries. (8) All 2012 figures are provisional. Source: Ministry of Justice

Repossession Orders

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many mortgage repossessions there have been in (a) each local authority in the UK and (b) City of Chester constituency in each quarter since 2007.

Helen Grant: The following table shows the numbers of claims leading to orders for the repossession of property by mortgage lenders and landlords in City of Chester between 2007 and 2012.
	Information is not held on the total number of repossessions as these can occur without a court order, such as where borrowers hand the keys back to the lender. Also, not all possession orders result in repossession. Many orders are suspended and if the borrower complies with the repayment arrangements set out in the suspended order the property will not be repossessed.
	Information on the number of claims leading to orders made is more accurate than the number of orders, removing the double-counting of instances where a single claim leads to more than one order. It is also a more meaningful measure of the number of homeowners who are subject to court repossession actions.
	The Ministry of Justice holds information for England and Wales and not the United Kingdom. The most recent data for claims leading to orders figures for all regions and local authority areas in England and Wales were recently published on 14 February 2013. Information is also available regarding the number of repossessions by county court bailiffs for England and Wales. This statistical bulletin is available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/civil-justice/mortgage-possession.htm
	In addition statistics on mortgage and landlord possession claims leading to orders made in the county courts of England and Wales, 2000-11—Breakdown by Parliamentary Constituencies—is available in the House of Commons library.
	
		
			 Number of mortgage(1) and landlord(2,3) possession claims leading to orders and repossession(4,5,6) for properties in City of Chester constituency in each quarter(7,8) between 2007 and 2012 
			  Mortgage possession claims leading to: 
			  (a) an order being made 
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total 
			 2007 30 30 10 45 115 
			 2008 30 55 45 30 165 
			 2009 15 20 30 15 80 
			 2010 20 20 20 15 75 
			 2011 18 13 16 10 57 
			 2012 24 9 13 18 64 
		
	
	
		
			  Landlord possession claims leading to: 
			  (a) an order being made 
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total 
			 2007 20 20 45 35 120 
			 2008 30 30 40 20 115 
			 2009 15 30 30 35 110 
			 2010 30 30 30 30 120 
			 2011 30 30 33 31 124 
		
	
	
		
			 2012 18 24 23 28 93 
			 (1) Includes all types of mortgage lenders. (2) Includes all types of landlord whether social or private. (3) Landlord actions include those made under both standard and accelerated procedures. Landlord actions via the accelerated procedure enables the orders to be made solely on the basis of written evidence for shorthold tenancies, when the fixed period of tenancy has come to an end. (4) The number of claims that lead to an order includes all claims in which the first order, whether outright or suspended, is made during the period. (5) The court, following a judicial decision, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (6) Includes outright and suspended orders, the latter being where the court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually require the defendant to pay the current mortgage or rent instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (7) Due to constituency boundary changes after the 6 May 2012 UK parliamentary general election, the figures prior to 2010 Q1 (January to March) are based on the old boundaries. (8) Figures between 2007 and 2010 are rounded to the nearest five and may not sum due to rounding. All 2012 figures are provisional Source: Ministry of Justice

Sexual Offences

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many (a) victims and (b) witnesses in sexual assault cases who gave evidence in court in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012 received counselling support;
	(2)  how many (a) victims and (b) witnesses in rape cases who gave evidence in criminal trials in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012 were advised not to receive counselling;
	(3)  how many (a) victims and (b) witnesses in rape cases who gave evidence in criminal trials in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012 received counselling support.

Helen Grant: The data requested are not recorded by the Ministry of Justice or Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service.
	Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes and the Government are committed to ensuring that victims and witnesses have access to the support they need. The MOJ is providing over £3.2 million of funding for rape support services in 2012-13. We will consult on a revised Victims' Code this spring. The draft code is intended to give victims clearer entitlements and to better tailor support services to individual need, including for victims of rape and sexual violence.

Small Claims

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the annual budget of the small claims court has been in each of the last 10 years.

Helen Grant: England and Wales does not have a separate small claims court. Small claims are those claims with a value of no more than £5,000 and which are allocated to the small claims track of the county court. HMCTS does not allocate budgets or keep separate records of expenditure for these types of claims.
	The cost of small claims is included in the costs of civil business reported in a note in the annual report. Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service, HMCTS, has no court cost statistics prior to the creation of Her Majesty's Courts Service on 1 April 2005. Details of the total civil business expenditure since April 2005 are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Civil business expenditure (£) 
			 2005-06 555,911 
			 2006-07 626,381 
			 2007-08 607,721 
			 2008-09 616,443 
			 2009-10 619,004 
			 2010-11 612,503 
			 2011-12 594,444 
		
	
	Further information on expenditure is available in the HMCS (2005-06 to 2010-11) and HMCTS (2011-12) annual reports and accounts, which can be found at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218200720/http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/8592.htm
	and
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/hmcts

Small Claims

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been employed by the small claims court in each of the last 10 years.

Helen Grant: Small claims fall within the jurisdiction of the county court. They are processed and managed by staff in both county courts and business centres. Staff working in these areas work flexibly covering a range of functions within the county courts jurisdiction. Staff numbers are not recorded by jurisdiction therefore it is not possible to give the number of people employed by the county courts over the last 10 years. However as at 31 December 2012 there were around 4,150 full-time equivalent members of staff working in the county courts and business centres.

Small Claims

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much judges in the Small Claims Court have been paid in each of the last 10 years.

Helen Grant: England and Wales does not have a separate small claims court. Small claims are those claims with a value of no more than £5,000 and which are allocated to the small claims track of the county court. A separate breakdown of payments to judges for dealing with small claims is not available.

Telephone Preference Service

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions his Department has held with the Information Commissioner's Office on encouraging the greater use of enforcement action against companies breaching Telephone Preference Service regulations.

Edward Vaizey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
	I met with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), Ofcom and TPS last July and also had a further meeting with ICO and Ofcom last month to discuss enforcement action against nuisance calls. In those discussions I pressed for further improvements to be made, particularly in terms of more effective enforcement action against companies that breached the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) rules. Consequently, the ICO increased the resources devoted to enforcement of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003 and on 28 November 2012 served monetary penalties totalling £440,000 to two illegal marketers responsible for distributing millions of spam texts. The ICO also published on its website a list of the most complained about companies that make calls to TPS registered consumers. If the companies rail to remedy their actions, then they could race further enforcement action. Furthermore, the ICO is currently considering issuing substantial penalties to three other companies for making calls to TPS registered consumers. I welcome this kind of robust action and expect the ICO to continue with similar measures against other companies as well.

Victims: Compensation

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much raised from fines and orders issued by courts was used for compensation of victims of crimes in (a) Dudley North constituency, (b) Dudley metropolitan borough and (c) the west midlands in 2011-12.

Helen Grant: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) systems do not identify amounts collected in specific constituency or metropolitan borough areas.
	The amount of compensation collected in the west midlands area in 2011-12 was £1,621,146. This amount could relate to compensation orders imposed during 2011-12 or any previous year.

Yorkshire and the Humber

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff of his Department are employed in (a) Hull and (b) East Yorkshire.

Damian Green: The number of people employed by the Ministry of Justice (Ministry of Justice HQ, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, National Offender Management Service and Office of the Public Guardian) in (a) Hull and (b) East Yorkshire is in the following table:
	
		
			 Staffing as at 31 December 2012 
			  Headcount Full-time equivalent 
			 Hull 635 588.08 
			 East Yorkshire 1,024 968.11

Young Offenders: Rehabilitation

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what provisions are in force to support young offenders upon their leaving the secure youth estate and returning to mainstream society.

Jeremy Wright: Young people leaving the youth secure estate receive resettlement support from their relevant local authority youth offending team. Plans for resettlement form part of the training plan developed with the young person in custody, based on his or her individual needs and aspirations. We have been working with the Youth Justice Board to promote the use of regional resettlement consortia, which link youth offending teams, together with the secure estate, to other local authority and voluntary services to plan and deliver enhanced resettlement support. From February this year, young offenders aged 16 and 17 years released from custody who are not in school, college or work with training are also eligible for help under the Youth Contract to return to education or training.
	As part of our consultation on ‘Transforming Youth Custody—Putting education at the heart of detention’ (Cm8564), which runs to 30 April, we are inviting views on how models for secure colleges should support young people leaving custody.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Departments: Telephone Services

David Hanson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will instigate a review of Government call centres to examine (a) the number of (i) repeat calls and (ii) transferred calls and (b) the cost to the public purse of handling calls in this fashion.

Nick Hurd: The Government's digital-by-default approach will transform the delivery of public services. We want digital services which are so easy to use that people will avoid offline channels. Our digital strategy, published in December, outlines the steps we are taking to achieve this. For some services the average cost of a digital transaction is almost 20 times lower than that of a telephone transaction.
	We have outlined our approach to digitising services in our Digital Strategy. There are no plans to instigate a separate review of Government call centres.

Productivity

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the level of productivity of British workers was in (a) 1983, (b) 1993, (c) 2003 and (d) 2012.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the level of productivity of British workers was in (a) 1983, (b) 1993, (c) 2003 and (d) 2012 [144979].
	Productivity, also known as Output per Worker, can be derived as the ratio of Gross Value Added and number of workers (from the Labour Force Survey). Gross Value Added figures were published on 27 February as part of the ONS statistical bulletin “2(nd) Estimate of Gross Domestic Product”.
	Number of workers is measured as ‘All in employment' which includes employees, the self employed, unpaid family workers and those on Government supported training and employment programmes. This data is published in the ONS statistical bulletin “Labour Market” on 20 February.
	
		
			 Output per UK worker by year (2009=100) 
			  Output per worker 
			 1983 61.1 
			 1993 76.4 
			 2003 95.9 
			 2012 101.1 
		
	
	GDP
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa2/second-estimate-of-gdp/q4-2012/stb-second-estimate-of-gdp-q4-2012.html
	Labour Force Survey
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/february-2013/statistical-bulletin.html

Public Sector: Civil Proceedings

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2012, Official Report, column 120W, on public sector: civil proceedings, what the outcome was of the investigations by his officials into this matter.

Francis Maude: holding answer 25 February 2013
	Work is now under way and I will update the House in due course.

Suicide

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many suicides in 2009 had their death registered in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and how many such people were (i) male and (ii) males aged 45 years or older;
	(2)  how many suicides in 2010 had their death registered in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and how many such people were (i) male and (ii) males aged 45 years or older;
	(3)  how many suicides in 2011 had their death registered in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012; and how many such people were (i) male and (ii) males aged 45 years or older.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked, the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking:
	1. How many suicides in 2011 had their death registered in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012; and how many such people were (i) male and (ii) males aged 45 years or older.
	2. How many suicides in 2010 had their death registered in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c)2012; and how many such people were (i) male and (ii) males aged 45 years or older.
	3. How many suicides in 2009 had their death registered in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012; and how many such people were (i) male and (ii) males aged 45 years or older.
	Tables 1, 2 and 3 provide the number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by sex and year of death registration, in England-and Wales, for deaths occurring in 2011, 2010 and 2009 respectively.
	Tables 4, 5 and 6 provide the number of male deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by age group and year of death registration, in England and Wales, for deaths occurring in 2011, 2010 and 2009 respectively.
	Figures are only available for deaths registered by 31 December 2011. Mortality statistics for deaths registered in England and Wales in 2012 will be published on the ONS website in July/August 2013.
	Figures for suicides in the United Kingdom, England and Wales, and regions of England, by age and sex, are published annually on the ONS website. The latest statistical bulletin also includes analysis of the impact of registration delays on UK suicide statistics:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html? definition=tcm%3A77-29400
	
		
			 Table 1. Number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by sex and year of death registration, England and Wales, deaths occurring in 2011(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides 
			 Registration year Males Females All persons 
			 2011 1,968 541 2,509 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent). (2 )Figures are for people aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2011, which were registered by 31 December 2011. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2. Number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by sex and year of death registration, England and Wales, deaths occurring in 2010(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides 
			 Registration year Males Females All persons 
			 2010 1,786 539 2,325 
			 2011 1,543 559 2,102 
			 Total 3,329 1,098 4,427 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent). (2) Figures are for people aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2010, which were registered by 31 December 2011. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3. Number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by sex and year of death registration, England and Wales, deaths occurring in 2009(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides 
			 Registration year Males Females All persons 
			 2009 1,873 551 2,424 
			 2010 1,447 482 1,929 
			 2011 135 44 179 
			 Total 3,455 1,077 4,532 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent). (2 )Figures are for people aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2009, which were registered by 31 December 2011. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 4. Number of male deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by age group and year of registration, England and Wales, deaths occurring in 2011(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides (males) 
			 Registration year Under 45 45 and over Total 
			 2011 913 1,055 1,968 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent). (2) Figures are for males aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2011, which were registered by 31 December 2011. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 5. Number of male deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by age group and year of registration, England and Wales, deaths occurring in 2010(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides (males) 
			 Registration year Under 45 45 and over Total 
			 2010 827 959 1,786 
			 2011 775 768 1,543 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 1,602 1,727 3,329 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent). (2) Figures are for males aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2010, which were registered by 31 December 2011. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 6. Number of male deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, by age group and year of registration, England and Wales, deaths occurring in 2009(1,2,3,4) 
			 Suicides (males) 
			 Registration year Under 45 45 and over Total 
			 2009 926 947 1,873 
			 2010 741 706 1,447 
			 2011 95 40 135 
			 Total 1,762 1,693 3,455 
			 (1) Suicide was defined using the international Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 (Intentional self-harm) and Y10-Y34 (Events of undetermined intent). (2) Figures are for males aged 15 years and over. (3) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (4) Figures are for deaths occurring in 2009, which were registered by 31 December 2011.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Alcoholic Drinks

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate she has made of the level of alcohol-related absenteeism in her Department; whether her Department has an (a) internal alcohol policy and (b) occupational health strategy; and if she will publish such documents.

Michael Penning: My Department, as it is now configured following the devolution of policing and justice functions in April 2012, has no recorded occurrences of alcohol-related absenteeism.
	Staff employed by my Department are on the terms and conditions of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). All absences are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. As appropriate, staff are offered support in line with the MOJ Managing Attendance Policy and Alcohol and Drug Policy.

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who her Department's cycling champion is.

Theresa Villiers: My Department does not currently have a cycling champion.

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress her Department has made on implementing the Cycle to Work guarantee.

Theresa Villiers: The Cycle to Work guarantee is a voluntary initiative and, while my Department has not formally signed up to it, staff have been made aware of the scheme and are able to access details about it via the Ministry of Justice. When appropriate, my Department does take opportunities to promote the Cycle to Work scheme to staff.

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether her Department has signed up to the Government's Cycle to Work scheme.

Theresa Villiers: My Department has not formally signed up to the Government's Cycle to Work scheme which is a voluntary initiative. However, when appropriate, my Department does take opportunities to promote the Cycle to Work scheme to staff who can also access details of the scheme via the Ministry of Justice.

Immigration

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential level of immigration to Northern Ireland from Bulgaria and Romania when transitional controls expire in January 2014.

Michael Penning: This is a matter for the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), who regularly monitors and analyses overall migration data to help inform policy decisions and which works closely with other Government Departments on these issues.
	The Government believe, like the independent Migration Advisory Committee, that forecasts of likely inflows from Romania and Bulgaria once restrictions are lifted are unlikely to be either sensible, or helpful to policymakers. Rather than produce speculative forecasts, the Government's priority is to cut out abuse of free movement and address pull factors such as access to benefits and public services.

Public Appointments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people she appointed to public bodies in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; (i) how many and (ii) what proportion of those appointees were (A) black or from an ethnic minority, (B) Hindu, (C) Muslim and (D) Chinese in each of those years; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: Information on numbers and the ethnicity and community background of those appointed to public bodies by my Department is provided to Cabinet Office on an annual basis. This information is published on the Cabinet Office website and can be accessed via the following link:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/public-bodies-reports

Training

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much her Department spent on training and education for civil servants in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: During 2010-11 and 2011-12, spend by my Department on training and education was £38,000 and £14,305 respectively.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy Supply

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the CIBSE Annual Lecture 2012, “Will GB's lights stay on and will the gas keep flowing: a look at the next decade?.

John Hayes: I have considered the CIBSE annual lecture.
	DECC commissioned Ofgem to assess gas security of supply last year and their report was published in November and was reflected in the lecture. This report showed the UK's gas supply picture to be robust, but highlighted a need to consider whether there is a case for intervening in the gas market to encourage gas supply security, over and above Ofgem's work to incentivise shippers to improve their supply arrangements. DECC is considering the case for intervention and will make an announcement this spring.
	I published my response to the Ofgem electricity capacity assessment in November 2012
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-security-of-supply-report-2012
	The Government are taking action to ensure the UK economy continues to enjoy high levels of security of electricity supply in the short, medium and long-term. Our comprehensive proposals for Electricity Market Reform will drive investment, ensuring that we have a diverse mix of energy sources. These proposals include legislating for a Capacity Market to ensure we have sufficient reliable capacity on the system in the long-term.
	The Government have a clear strategy for how it will continue to deliver energy security, as set out in our Energy Security Strategy, published in November:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-security-strategy

Energy: Billing

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the sums retained by energy companies as a result of unclaimed overpayments by customers in each of the last 10 years.

John Hayes: DECC does not hold the information requested.
	In connection to overpayments made by direct debit customers, any credit built up over the summer period will be used to pay for higher energy use over the winter. Customers may review their direct debits payments at anytime although suppliers generally will do this twice a year. The major energy suppliers operate their own automatic credit refund policies whereby a refund is triggered when credit accumulated in a customer's account reaches a certain amount, and all suppliers will refund credit in a customer's account on request if based on a meter reading.

Fuel Poverty

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the north-east and (d) the UK have entered fuel poverty in each year since May 2010.

Gregory Barker: The latest published data available are for 2010. These show the following numbers of households in fuel poverty in that year:
	
		
			  Number of households in fuel poverty 
			 (a) Jarrow constituency 8,000 
			 (b) South Tyneside 14,500 
			 (c) North East 238,000 
			 (d) UK 4,750,000 
		
	
	Data for 2011 will be published in May 2013. Therefore it is not yet possible to estimate to number of households that have entered fuel poverty since May 2010.
	Using these data, it is not possible to track households over time, and see whether they move into or out of fuel poverty. We can only estimate the total numbers of households in fuel poverty at each point in time.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on how many occasions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have (i) met with representatives of and (ii) visited local communities affected by the proposed Hinkley Point C development.

John Hayes: Ministers and officials have regularly met with representatives of communities near Hinkley Point and visited the area. The Department has also established the Hinkley Strategic Development Forum, which meets in Somerset and aims to maximise the growth and local employment opportunities arising from any development at Hinkley Point.
	In all such discussions Ministers and officials avoid any consideration of the merits of EDF's application for development consent to build a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point, on which the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), is due to make the final decision by 19 March.

Nuclear Power Stations

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether (a) carbon floor price support, (b) contracts for difference support, (c) underwriting of accident liability over a defined amount, (d) underwriting of long-term waste storage and monitoring which go beyond any funded agreement or in the event of that agreement failing and (e) underwriting of construction costs for new nuclear power stations have been judged to (i) constitute and (ii) not constitute state aid under EU rules and on which a definitive opinion has not yet been obtained.

John Hayes: The Government, like all other EU member states, are bound by EU state aid rules and are designing policies and institutional arrangements to be consistent with those rules. As such, I can confirm that we are working with the European Commission to ensure that our policies are compliant with state aid rules, where we consider these have state aid implications. In order to maintain effective working relationships with the Commission we cannot provide a running commentary on the progress of these discussions.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many residents of St Helens South and Whiston constituency have participated in the feed-in tariff scheme for home electricity generation since the scheme's inception.

Gregory Barker: The latest published statistics shows at the end of quarter 4 2012 (ending December 2012), 290 domestic installations in the St Helens South and Whitson constituency were confirmed on the feed-in tariff scheme since it began in April 2010. Ninety-nine per cent (289) of these were installations of solar photovoltaics, with Micro CHP installations representing the remaining 1%.
	The next set of sub-regional statistics to the end of quarter 1 2013 (ending March 2013) showing the number of installations by constituency will be published at 9:30 am on Tuesday 23 April 2013.

Staff

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff his Department employed in each of the past five years; how many such staff were employed in London; how many such staff were employed in other regions of England; how many posts moved from London to these regions; and what steps he is taking to move his staff to regional offices.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was created in October 2008. Therefore there are no data prior to that date.
	The data in the following table show the number of civil servants working in DECC at 31 March for each year and those based in London and those in our regional office in Scotland.
	
		
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 London — 950.32 1,085.5 1,195.71 
			 Aberdeen — 71.5 76.56 90.3 
			 Total 768.1 1,021.82 1,162.06 1,286.01 
		
	
	DECC has no immediate plans to move any additional staff to regional offices but continues to keep the location of staff under review.
	The data in the table above show staff in full-time equivalent (fte). The total number of staff shown for 2009 is the average number of staff used throughout the period as shown in the department's annual report and resource account 2008-09 as a detailed location breakdown of staff in March 2009 is not held.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Aerospace Industry

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK aerospace industry's development of microwave propulsion technology such as EmDrive is able to keep up to date with Chinese developments.

David Willetts: While there remains some considerable doubts about this particular idea, the Government are investing more than £250 million a year in space technology including advanced electric propulsion.

Alcoholic Drinks

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the level of alcohol-related absenteeism in his Department; whether his Department has an (a) internal alcohol policy and (b) occupational health strategy; and if he will publish such documents.

Jo Swinson: BIS does not collect data centrally on alcohol-related absenteeism and is therefore unable to provide details of the level of alcohol-related absences.
	BIS is committed to providing a safe and productive work environment and to maintaining the health, safety and well-being of staff. BIS alcohol policy applies to all staff, agency workers, contractors and others working in the Department. It covers the misuse of alcohol that could adversely affect work performance and/or health and safety.
	BIS offers a constructive and supportive approach to staff and refers employees with health issues to an independent Medical Adviser (MA) who is an occupational health expert.

British Grolux Investments

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has received any reports on the holding of Vatican property by British Grolux Investments Ltd.

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has not received any reports into the holding of Vatican property by British Grolux Investments Ltd.
	British Grolux Investments Ltd, which has the company registration number 3727578, is a company registered at Companies House, and its records are available for public inspection.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will meet representatives of the Expired Copyright Homewares Organisation to discuss the potential effect on furniture retailers of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Jo Swinson: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has asked officials at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
	IPO officials have already met with representatives of the Expired Copyright Homewares Organisation and continues discussions with them.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he made observations to the European Court of Justice in the case of Flos v. Serneraro in respect of the provisions of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Jo Swinson: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), is able to confirm on this occasion that the UK did not submit observations in this case.

Employment Agencies: EU Law

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the extent to which the Swedish Derogation in the Agency Workers Directive is utilised.

Jo Swinson: The Swedish Derogation is the name sometimes used to describe a derogation permitted under the Agency Workers Directive.
	For this derogation to apply the agency worker must be paid between assignments and be a permanent employee of the temporary work agency.
	In addition to the benefits that agency workers under such contracts receive from being employees, they are also entitled to the rights set out in the Agency Workers Regulations. The one exception is the right to receive pay equal to a person recruited directly by the hirer to the same job.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not made an assessment about the extent to which the Swedish Derogation is utilised.

Energy: Industry

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2013, Official Report, column 544W, on energy: industry, what the timetable is for producing an energy intensive industrial strategy.

Michael Fallon: We are committed to ensuring that energy-intensive industries remain competitive during the shift to a low-carbon economy. This is why we have secured £250 million to help ease the impact. In addition, we announced that we will reduce the impact of electricity prices rising as a result of electricity market reform policies on electricity-intensive industries, where this significantly impacts their international competitiveness and subject to consultation and state aid considerations.
	We are currently considering a proposal from the Environmental Audit Committee for an energy intensive industry strategy. We are in discussion with DECC on how we might draw on current work, including on sector specific low-carbon roadmaps, to address this.

EU Grants and Loans

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what role local enterprise partnerships will play in the determination of spending priorities for EU transition zone funding.

Michael Fallon: The Government will be in a position to set out how much of the Structural Funds allocation will be available to local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), including those in transition regions, only after there is a final agreement between the European Parliament and member states—and the 2014-20 budget.
	Within England, it is expected that LEP areas will receive notional allocations of Structural Funds and that LEPs will lead the development of strategies for investment of these allocations in their areas.

Industrial Disputes

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the (a) direct and (b) indirect costs to the UK economy of working days lost to industrial action in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

Jo Swinson: Industrial action has many different types of effect, not only on those workers or firms directly involved, and not only at the time industrial action takes place. It is difficult to measure impacts accurately, including taking account of use of alternative services where they are available. As a result, there is no recognised measure for evaluating the overall economic impact of any given strike.
	The Office for National Statistics provides annual figures for working days lost due to strike action, as well as the number of stoppages and workers involved. It has provisionally estimated that 248,000 working days were lost due to labour disputes in 2012, which is equivalent to approximately nine days per 1,000 employees. The 10-year average for the period 2002 to 2011 is 764,900 working days lost per year.

Medicine: Research

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the continuation of the Biomedical Catalyst fund.

David Willetts: Autumn statement 2011 provided £90 million new funding to the Technology Strategy Board, aligned with £90 million from the budget of the Medical Research Council, to deliver £180 million over three years for the Biomedical Catalyst programme from 2012-13 to 2014-15.
	Funding commitments from the first round of the programme were announced in November 2012. £49 million of funding was committed to 64 projects, which will leverage at least £25 million of private sector funding. 40 projects will be led by SMEs, and 24 by universities. Commitments for the second round of the programme will be announced soon.
	Continuation of the Biomedical Catalyst programme beyond the current funding allocation will be subject to future spending decisions.

New Businesses: Young People

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications have been made in total under the start-up loans scheme to date; how many applications have been successful; how many applications are currently being assessed; how many applications have been rejected; how many successful applicants have drawn down funds; and if he will break down these figures by (a) gender, (b) region, (c) local authority area, (d) age and (e) start up loans delivery partner.

Michael Fallon: A total of 10,695 approaches have been made via the Start-Up Loans website. We do not record the number of approaches to delivery partners direct.
	Anecdotally, delivery partners report that around four inquiries in 10 will progress to pre-business support stages with one in four of those receiving a Start-up loan within around six weeks.
	Other applications, while not necessarily declined, require more support to get to finance readiness and do not progress within this timescale.
	As at 22 February, 1,509 applications for a start up loan have been successful and 202 applications are currently being assessed for a credit decision by our partners. Of the 1,509 successful applicants, 814 have drawn down their loan.
	The breakdown of data to date on drawn down loans from delivery partners are as follows:
	(a) Gender:
	Male: 63%
	Female: 37%
	(b) Region:
	London: 27%
	West midlands: 15%
	North-west: 12%
	Yorkshire: 9%
	South-west: 8%
	North-east: 8%
	East England: 8%
	South-east: 7%
	East midlands: 6%
	(c) Local authority area
	We do not record data broken down by local authority area.
	(d) Age:
	62% of loan recipients are aged 18-24
	38% of loan recipients are aged 25-30
	(e) Start-up loans delivery partner
	
		
			 Delivery partner Loans 
			 Biz Britain 4 
			 Bright Ideas Trust 7 
			 Brightside Trust 2 
			 Business Finance Solutions 93 
			 Business Support and Development 15 
			 Cloudspeed 17 
			 Community Development Finance Association 10 
			 Dreamstake Ltd 1 
			 East London SBC 17 
			 Elevation Networks 27 
			 Enterprise Loans East Midlands 13 
			 Fashion Angel 2 
			 Foundation East 11 
			 GLE One London 16 
			 Hull Business Development Fund 18 
			 Kaleidoscope 1 
		
	
	
		
			 Lets Do Business Group 35 
			 Norfolk and Waveney Enterprise Services 9 
			 North London Community Finance 50 
			 Original Upstarts 1 
			 Project North East 29 
			 Riverside Credit Union 5 
			 Rockstar Youth 102 
			 School for Start Ups 52 
			 Sheffield 1 
			 South West Investment Group 26 
			 Start Up Direct 49 
			 The Prince's Trust 160 
			 University of the Arts 1 
			 WSX Enterprise 2 
			 Yorkshire Coast Enterprise 5 
			 Young Britain 33

Postgraduate Education

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2013, Official Report, columns 254-6W, on postgraduate education, how many first year postgraduate students enrolled on each type of higher education course in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on student enrolments at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). I will place in the Library of the House information on the number of UK domiciled first year postgraduate enrolments by region of domicile and institution at English HEIs for the academic years 2010/11 and 2011/12. As requested, the data have been broken down by type: taught and research.
	HESA published the Statistical First Release ‘Enrolments and Qualifications Obtained in Higher Education in the UK in 2011/12’ on 10 January 2013. The decline in postgraduate enrolments was caused by a reduction in part-time home provision. HEFCE explained this:
	The major contributing factor to the reduction in Part-time Postgraduate-Taught (PGT) student numbers in 2011/12 relates to postgraduate professional development (PPD) courses for teachers that, prior to 2011/12, would have been TDA-funded. With effect from the academic year 2011/12 the funding for this programme ceased.
	Further information is available at:
	https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/ppd_funding_manual_2011_12.pdf
	In addition, some institutions have made changes to their reporting practices in respect of some Part-time PGT students, which have also had an effect.
	Information for the 2012/13 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2014.

Public Appointments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people he appointed to public bodies in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; (i) how many and (ii) what proportion of those appointees were (A) black or from an ethnic minority, (B) Hindu, (C) Muslim and (D) Chinese in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: In 2010-11, BIS made 42 appointments to our public bodies of which one was from an ethnic minority background. 14 did not declare their diversity information. For the same period BIS reappointed 50 members to our public bodies of which one declared themselves from an ethnic minority with seven not declaring this information.
	In 2011-12, BIS made 66 appointments to our public bodies of which two were from an ethnic minority background and six did not declare their diversity information. For the same period BIS reappointed 55 members to our public bodies of which two declared themselves from an ethnic minority with 10 not declaring this information.
	The Commissioner for Public Appointments collates and publishes information on the number of appointments of candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds; however this information is not broken down by ethnic group.
	Copies of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 annual reports are available at:
	http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk
	Copies are available in the Library of the House.
	Appointments to public bodies are made on merit following a fair and open process.
	BIS, like other Government Departments, is keen to ensure that our public bodies should be representative of the population at large and that there is balance in terms of diversity.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many individual awards from Round One of the Regional Growth Fund have not yet received a final agreed offer; and what the monetary value is of each of those awards.

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 30 January 2013, Official Report, column 837W.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether funds recycled from both (a) the 45 Regional Growth Fund (RGF) bids which have been withdrawn to date under rounds one, two and three and (b) projects or programmes from RGF rounds one, two and three which have reduced in scope will be allocated to the Exceptional Regional Growth Fund.

Michael Fallon: As stated in my written ministerial statement of 11 February 2013, exceptional RGF funds will be met from existing budgets by recycling money from previous RGF rounds where bidders have withdrawn or reduced their grant amount.
	In addition, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 5 December 2012 that £350 million would be made available for a further round of the Regional Growth Fund. This consists of £140 million of recycled money from previous rounds.
	By recycling money back into the RGF we ensure that it continues to be awarded to businesses to create private sector jobs and growth.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what independent advice he plans to seek before approving Exceptional Regional Growth Fund support.

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 25 February 2013, Official Report, column 301W.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 February 2013, Official Report, columns 33-4WS, in which region each of the withdrawn bids to the Regional Growth Fund was located.

Michael Fallon: The following table details the bids that have withdrawn from Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the RGF and the English administrative region.
	
		
			 No Name of beneficiary Region 
			 1 A&P Tyne Ltd North East 
			 2 Ames Goldsmith UK Ltd North West 
			 3 BRM Packaging Ltd West Midlands 
			 4 C&C Baseline Ltd North West 
			 5 Caparo Precision Strip West Midlands 
			 6 Carlton and Co North East 
			 7 CE3—Conitech(1) North East 
			 8 CE4—Verta Energy North East 
			 9 Cleveland Potash Ltd North East 
			 10 CT5—Exhausto Ltd(2) South East 
			 11 CT7—Aggregate Industries Ltd East Midlands 
			 12 CT8-W.D. Irwin and Sons West Midlands 
			 13 CT9—Aria Y&H 
			 14 Cumbrian Holdings North East 
			 15 Diodes Zetex Semiconductors Ltd North West 
			 16 Disley Tissues Ltd North West 
			 17 Federal-Mogul Friction Product East Midlands 
			 18 Heerema Hartlepool Ltd North East 
			 19 Huntsman Polyurethanes (UK) Ltd North East 
			 20 ING Lease UK Ltd Nationwide 
			 21 I-Plas Products Ltd Y&H 
			 22 J&B Recycling Ltd North East 
			 23 Marlow Foods Ltd North East 
			 No Name of beneficiary Region 
			 24 Messier-Dowty Ltd South West 
			 25 Nissan UK P3 North East 
			 26 Northern Tissue Group Ltd North West 
			 27 PD Teesport North East 
			 28 Pilkington United Kingdom Ltd North West 
			 29 PMT Industries Ltd North West 
			 30 Rapsican Systems West Midlands 
			 31 SCM Pharma Ltd North East 
			 32 Shepherd Offshore Ltd North East 
			 33 Sirius Minerals Y&H 
			 34 St Modwen Properties West Midlands 
			 35 Stainless Plating Ltd Y&H 
			 36 Sunsolar Ltd West Midlands 
			 37 T&N Plastics Y&H 
			 38 Tameside/Monopumps North West 
			 39 Thales Properties Ltd (Leicester) East Midlands 
			 40 The Listen Media Company Ltd North West 
			 41 Treves UK Ltd. Y&H 
			 42 Turner Powertrain Systems Ltd West Midlands 
			 43 Universal Engineering South West 
		
	
	
		
			 44 Vestas Technology UK Ltd South East 
			 45 Zegen (Wilton) Ltd North East 
			 (1) CE is the Chirton Engineering package of projects. (2) CT is the Carbon Trust package of projects.

Regional Growth Fund: Merseyside

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been (a) committed to and (b) spent in the Merseyside region through the Regional Growth Fund in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013 to date.

Michael Fallon: From the Regional Growth Fund, the following sums were committed to 12 projects and programmes in the metropolitan county of Merseyside (Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and the Wirral):
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
			 2010-11 0 
			 2011-12 31,872,900 
			 2012-13 12,964,317 
			 2013-14 40,501,245 
		
	
	The sum of Regional Growth Fund payments to date to beneficiaries in the metropolitan county of Merseyside in the same period was:
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
			 2010-11 0 
			 2011-12 31,872,900 
			 2012-13 11,582,262 
		
	
	The amount paid in 2012-13 is less than the amount committed for this financial year because there are still some outstanding payments to be made before the year end (31 March 2013).

Trade: Commonwealth

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what comparative assessment he has made of the level of trade between the (a) UK, (b) EU and (c) US, and Commonwealth countries in the last (i) year, (ii) five, (iii) 10 and (iv) 20 years.

Michael Fallon: Trade in goods (in billions of US dollars at current prices) is shown in the following table, based on data from the UN COMTRADE database. The latest data are for 2011.
	The key Commonwealth trading partners for the UK are Canada and India, together accounting for around 30% of all UK-Commonwealth trade over the last twenty years.
	Around half of EU-Commonwealth trade is with the UK.
	Around 60% of US-Commonwealth trade is with Canada, followed by the UK (over 10% of the total).

Training

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on training and education for civil servants in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Department (core BIS) has recorded the following spend against the specific reporting point for training, as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2009-10 4,190,088 
			 2010-11 2,340,575 
			 2011-12 2,662,967

Urban Areas: Innovation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how the £24 million allocated under the Technology Strategy Board's Future Cities Demonstrator will be spent.

David Willetts: Glasgow was recently announced as the winning city to host the Technology Strategy Board's Future Cities Demonstrator.
	Glasgow city council's Future Cities Demonstrator will be made up of a series of projects that will improve transport and mobility across the city. It will develop programmes to promote healthy living, deliver advanced street lighting to address community safety and perception of crime, and enhance building energy efficiency to provide affordable warmth.
	Value will be created by capturing and opening up data, improving the city's real-time operations with a city dashboard and a management system that views the city as an integrated whole, and a ‘MyGlasgow’ public window on the city to deliver multiple benefits for the people of Glasgow.
	It is for the Glasgow city council to decide on the allocation of the £24 million awarded to it by the Technology Strategy Board for the various activities within its Future Cities Demonstrator. A condition of the funding is that all results from the Demonstrator will be made publicly available so that other cities will be able to engage with Glasgow to learn from its experience.

HEALTH

Atrial Fibrillation

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance he has given on the prescription of aspirin to treat and manage atrial fibrillation;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that health practitioners and commissioners have up-to-date, evidenced-based information of the anticoagulants available to treat atrial fibrillation.

Anna Soubry: The Department has not provided advice on the prescription of aspirin to treat atrial fibrillation (AF). The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) provides evidence-based advice on the clinical and cost-effectiveness in the use of medicines. It is currently updating the existing clinical guideline on AF and plans to publish a quality standard on AF with the revised guideline in 2014. NICE is also in the process of updating the commissioning guidance on anticoagulation therapy services to take account of its recent guidance on the new oral anticoagulants, dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto); it aims to publish this update in April 2013.
	NHS Improvement is continuing to work with the cardiovascular networks and other key partners to provide advice and guidance on stroke prevention in AF. This work includes the continued development and roll-out of a simple audit tool to general practices in England. This enables general practitioners to identify those patients with AF who are currently prescribed aspirin to manage their risk of stroke and who would benefit from oral anticoagulant medicines. Over the last year, NHS Improvement has promoted the use of this tool at many educational events as well as the use of oral anticoagulant medicines over aspirin.

Beef: Horsemeat

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the first tests for horse DNA were conducted by supermarkets on a UK company's frozen burgers; and how many and which withdrawn product lines from each retailer and caterer were tested for horse DNA following the announcement of results of tests by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland on 14 January 2013.

Anna Soubry: Following the Food Safety Authority Ireland (FSAI) survey publication on 16 January, the food industry began DNA testing for horsemeat across their product ranges. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) does not hold detailed information on when supermarkets began their testing programmes.
	The retailers named in the FSAI survey removed all relevant products from their shelves. All the withdrawn products which have tested positive for >1% horse DNA have been made public, and information on relevant companies and products are available on the FSA website.
	Results from the industry testing programme requested by the FSA, which includes frozen burgers and other meat products, together with a list of companies providing test results to the FSA as part of this programme, are published on the FSA website at food.gov.uk.

Cancer

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that the NHS Commissioning Board is held to account for the commissioning of specialised cancer services.

Anna Soubry: From 1 April, the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for directly commissioning specialised cancer services and the Department will hold the Board to account.
	In the Government's mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board, we set an objective to ensure that whether national health service care is commissioned nationally by the Board or locally by clinical commissioning groups the results—the quality and value of the services— should be measured and published in a similar way, including against the relevant areas of the NHS Outcomes Framework. Success will be measured not only by the average level of improvement but also by progress in reducing health inequalities and unjustified variation.

Cancer

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how the Friends and Family Test results will be used to improve the experience of cancer patients;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2012, Official Report, column 467W, on cancer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the results of the 2011-12 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey have been used to improve local cancer care and services.

Anna Soubry: The national report and 160 bespoke trust level reports from the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2011-12 were published in August 2012. These have been made widely available to drive and inform local service improvement. The trust level reports provide benchmarked data nationally and between teams so that priority improvement areas can be identified. We are aware that a number of trusts have produced action plans based on the results of the surveys.
	The National Cancer Action Team has been working with Cancer Networks to drive service improvements based on the results of the survey. This has included producing the report, ‘Improvements in cancer patient experience: how have they been made?’, which will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cancer Patient Experience Advisory Group on 8 March 2013, and then shared widely with trusts.
	We have encouraged stakeholders in the third sector to use the survey results to identify and share best practice in patient care and services to support service improvement activity. For example, Macmillan Cancer Support analysed the data, and published the 10 best and worst performing Trusts in England in 2012, which were also published in the second annual report of ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’ in December 2012. Macmillan also produced ‘Improving Cancer Patient Experience—A top tips guide’. This document can be found on the Macmillan website, and searching for the top tips guide in the toolbar.
	In addition, all the quantitative data from the survey have been sent to the National Data Archive at Essex university and is freely available for access by researchers to undertake a series of analyses under the rules of the archive.
	Patient experience is one of three domains of quality alongside effectiveness and safety. This Government are committed to encouraging services to be responsive to patient needs and experiences, and using feedback to make services truly patient-centred.
	The Friends and Family test will be implemented nationally from 1 April 2013 for all acute in-patient and accident and emergency (A&E) services. All in-patients and patients in A&E departments will be given the opportunity to answer the simple question ‘How likely are you to recommend our ward/A&E department to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment'.
	The test is unique in that it provides frequent, fast (near-real time) feedback, which is comparable from both patients' and NHS staff perspectives. Alongside other feedback, the test will be used by service providers as a tool for improvement, by commissioners and the public to hold services to account and by patients to inform choice.
	Where a cancer patient is either an in-patient or discharged from an A&E department, they will be asked the Friends and Family test; however, the results will not be differentiated by patient diagnosis.

Carers: Kingston upon Hull

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of registered carers in (a) Hull and (b) Kingston upon Hull North constituency.

Norman Lamb: The only regulated part of the social care workforce are social workers and nurses, occupational therapists and other therapists.
	The number of registered social workers employed by councils with adult social services responsibilities is published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. Data are not collected at constituency level and are therefore presented for Hull council only and are at whole time equivalent (WTE) level and individual worker level. As at September 2011 there were around 60 WTE adult social workers in Hull, this equates to around 70 individual adult social workers employed.

Chronic Illnesses

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a comparative assessment has been made of the quality of life of patients suffering from chronic pain who are not taking prescription medications compared to patients who are taking such medications; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: No such comparative assessment has been made. A number of forms of treatment may be appropriate for people with chronic pain, including physiotherapy and spinal manipulation, pharmaceutical treatments, and in some cases surgical treatments. In many cases of less severe chronic pain, it may be possible to achieve satisfactory pain relief without use of prescription-only medicines. People with chronic pain should be encouraged and supported in taking control of the management of their condition, including the choice of appropriate pain relief.

Direct Payments

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the take-up of direct payment has been in each local authority in London in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of whether local authorities in England and Wales will have all council-funded service users and carers (a) on personal budgets and (b) as recipients of direct payment by April 2013.

Norman Lamb: Official statistics on local authority care package provision for service users and carers, including data on personal budget and direct payment provision, will be published later this year by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).
	The latest figures published in February 2013 by the HSCIC are for the period 2011-12 and show:
	People receiving personal budgets and direct payments was 606,000 (up 38% from 2010-11 (446,000)) out of 1.4 million people receiving community-based services.
	Of these, 192,000 received a direct payment. (increase of 9% from 2010-11 (176,000)).
	National provision of personal budgets is 43% of users and carers (increase from 29.2% in 2010-11).
	The 2013 objective, agreed by the adult social care sector, was revised in November 2012 to 70% of people receiving services to be issued a personal budget nationally. This reflects the fact that personal budgets may not be suitable for some people (for example re-ablement services, and equipment). Councils are continuing to make progress in order to reach the 2013 objective.
	Take up (total numbers) of social service users receiving direct payments is collected by the HSCIC as part of the annual Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care (RAP) collection from local authorities.
	The table shows four years of data rather than the stated three. The surplus year (2008-09) has been supplied due to changes in the way direct payments were recorded in 2009-10. The change in that year means that 2009-10 data is not comparable with other years.
	Data pre and post 2009-10 are comparable as the recording practice in 2009-10 was only used for one collection year.
	
		
			 Total number of service users receiving direct payments in each local authority in London in each of the last four years for the period 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 
			  Date 
			  13 February 2013 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			   Direct Payments Existing and or New Direct Payments and Personal Budgets Payments Direct Payments Direct Payments 
			 London boroughs Barking and Dagenham 395 835 415 1,390 
			  Barnet 635 810 960 1,030 
			  Bexley 400 1,425 450 735 
			  Brent 515 955 740 460 
			  Bromley 385 745 435 405 
			  Camden 320 880 530 675 
			  City of London 20 65 70 100 
			  Croydon 385 590 530 560 
			  Ealing 460 860 580 870 
			  Enfield 435 1,205 770 1,115 
		
	
	
		
			  Greenwich 335 705 420 460 
			  Hackney 265 420 395 410 
			  Hammersmith and Fulham 255 370 380 450 
			  Haringey 300 400 525 725 
			  Harrow 620 1,065 860 910 
			  Havering 350 510 510 580 
			  Hillingdon 360 385 435 440 
			  Hounslow 380 505 485 635 
			  Islington 250 395 440 500 
			  Kensington and Chelsea 360 1,450 595 585 
			  Kingston-upon-Thames 265 395 240 250 
			  Lambeth 325 355 440 515 
			  Lewisham 455 485 620 855 
			  Merton 245 340 345 440 
			  Newham 465 855 935 985 
			  Redbridge 350 580 1,180 790 
			  Richmond upon Thames 425 1,285 565 500 
			  Southwark 220 510 335 945 
			  Sutton 425 535 415 435 
			  Tower Hamlets 260 340 400 505 
			  Waltham Forest 335 570 670 890 
			  Wandsworth 625 420 425 450 
			  Westminster 515 700 640 620 
			   
			 Age 18 + London total 12,335 21,945 17,735 21,220 
			 Notes: 1. Final 2011-12 data have been published on 15 February 2013—Measures from the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework for England 2011-12 Final. 2. The data relates to adults aged 18+ 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 Source: P2f RAP proforma, HSCIC

Fast Food

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2013, Official Report, column 943W, on fast food, if he will discuss that study's conclusions with the fast food industry.

Anna Soubry: We note with interest the report by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood on fast food. We have no plans to discuss this report with the fast food industry.

Health Education

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether companies and brands featured during Change4Life television advertisements on 7 January 2013 paid for their own airtime; and whether the Change4Life campaign made any contributions to these costs.

Anna Soubry: All of the companies which advertised within the special Change4Life, Be Food Smart healthier advertisement break shown on 7 January 2013 paid for their own airtime and Change4Life did not contribute to their costs.

Health Services: Learning Disability

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with a learning disability are aware that they are entitled to an annual health check;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of GPs who offer annual health checks for people with a learning disability; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that these health checks are more readily accessible;
	(3)  what steps his Department is taking to promote annual health checks for people with learning disabilities; and what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of this issue;
	(4)  what plans his Department has for the level of funding for annual health checks for people with learning disabilities.

Norman Lamb: The Government are committed to ensuring continued arrangements for annual health checks for people with learning difficulties.
	That is why the arrangements for general practitioners to provide such checks are included in the Government’s proposals for changes to the General Medical Services contract for 2013-14.
	Under such arrangements, participating general practitioners are required to maintain a register of learning disability patients and offer an annual health check to each patient on that register. There is an incentive of £102.16 payable to general practitioners for each completed annual health check.
	The Department does not have a figure for the number of general practitioner practices offering this service. However, the Learning Disability Public Health Observatory published its report on the number of patients with learning disabilities receiving health checks during 2011-12. The total number of checks increased from 23% in 2008-09 to 53% in 2011-12.
	From April 2013, the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning primary medical services, including the arrangements for annual health checks for people with learning disabilities.

Heart Diseases: Babies

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he has given to rolling out pulse oximetry screening for all new-born babies.

Daniel Poulter: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the national health service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, it assesses the evidence for programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria.
	The UK NSC is currently reviewing the evidence for newborn screening for heart conditions using pulse oximetry against its criteria. A public consultation on the screening review will open shortly. Ministers expect to receive a recommendation from the UK NSC later this year.

Human Papillomavirus

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how and when he intends to assess the outcome of his Department's HPV vaccination programme in terms of lives saved;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of lives saved by the HPV vaccination programme each year; and what the estimated cost will be of each life saved.

Anna Soubry: The aim of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme is to prevent cancers related to HPV. Given the difference in the age at which most cervical cancers occur and the age of routine HPV immunisation, an impact on cervical cancer incidence is not expected to be seen for at least a decade or more and is likely to be seen first in the results from the cervical screening programme before cancer registries. For this reason the Health Protection Agency has been commissioned to monitor the early impact of HPV immunisation on type-specific (vaccine and non-vaccine) HPV infection rates and initial results from this programme are anticipated to be published within the next year.
	A study of the costs and benefits of the HPV vaccination programme, including on the number of cervical cancer cases, commissioned by the Department has been published: Jit M, Choi YH and Edmunds WJ, Economic evaluation of human papillomavirus vaccination in the United Kingdom.
	British Medical Journal
	(BMJ) 2008; 337: a769.
	www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a769
	This was updated in 2011 and published: Jit M, Chapman R, Hughes O and Choi YH, Comparing bivalent and quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccines: economic evaluation based on transmission model. BMJ 2011; 343: d5775.
	www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d5775
	The analytical framework adopted followed National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines, using quality-adjusted life years as the outcome measure. This assessment covers the impact on the quality and length of life of those affected by the disease and the impact on national health service resources.

Human Papillomavirus

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether the costs of treating all recorded serious adverse reactions will be taken into account when calculating the cost of the HPV vaccination programme;
	(2)  what the cost to his Department is of each HPV vaccination; and what the total cost was of the Cervarix vaccination programme between 2008 and 2012;
	(3)  whether schools are paid for carrying out the HPV vaccination programme.

Anna Soubry: The costs of treating any potential adverse reaction to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, are not included in the costs of implementing the national HPV immunisation programme.
	The approximate total cost of the HPV programme between 2008 and 2012 is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Financial year Approximate programme costs (£ million) (excluding costs for the vaccine, storage and distribution) 
			 2008-09 24.2 
			 2009-10 46.1 
			 2010-11 9.3 
			 2011-12 8.9 
			 2012-13 7.8 
		
	
	Costs for financial years include funding provided to primary care trusts (PCT) to support the implementation of the programme, communication materials and advertising, except for 2011-12 and 2012-13, where no advertising was produced.
	The cost of HPV vaccine cannot be disclosed, as this information is commercially confidential. We estimate the cost of administering each dose at £10 a dose.
	The routine HPV vaccination programme for girls aged 12-13 years ran in each financial year. In addition to this, in 2008-09 there was a catch up programme for those aged 17-18 years, and in 2009-10, a catch up programme for those aged 17-18 years, plus an accelerated catch up programme for those aged 14-16 years.
	Schools do not receive payment for allowing the HPV programme to be administered on their premises.

London Health Improvement Board

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London and London councils on the establishment of the London Health Improvement Board; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The then Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), had a number of discussions with the Mayor about the London Health Improvement Board (LHIB). In addition, officials have had a number of discussions with the London Councils and the Local Government Association about the LHIB.
	We recognise that in an area such as London there is potential for delivering health improvement services on a city-wide basis. The LHIB has been meeting since July 2011. On 23 May 2012, we introduced the Greater London Authority Act (Amendment) Order 2012. The Order was originally requested by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the London boroughs. The intention of the order was to build on the LHIB arrangements established by the GLA and the London boroughs by allowing primary care trusts (until 2013) and local authorities (from 2013) to commission services from the GLA. Alongside this, the GLA have the power to engage in fundraising from private sponsors for public health activities as well.

Medicine: Research

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on (a) cancer, (b) stroke, (c) coronary heart disease and (d) dementia research in each financial year since 2008-09.

Anna Soubry: The figures are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Cancer Stroke Cardiovascular disease(1) Dementia 
			 2008-09 133.7 16.9 42.7 18.4 
			 2009-10 90.8 20.2 31.9 12.7 
			 2010-11 102.1 20.9 31.3 18.6 
			 2011-12 105.4 20.4 34.3 25.1 
			 (1) Figures for the Department's total expenditure on coronary heart disease research are not available separately. 
		
	
	The decrease in funding in 2009-10 reflects a more transparent and accurate method for assessing disease-specific research and development (R&D) spend.
	Prior to the establishment of the National Institute for Health Research in April 2006, the main part of the Department's total health research expenditure was devolved to and managed by national health service organisations.
	The NHS organisations reported on their use of these allocations in annual R&D reports, and each report included figures for research spend on cancer and on degenerative neurological disorders. These figures have been included in the Department's estimates of total annual spend respectively on cancer research and dementia research up to 2008-09.
	From April 2006 to March 2009, transitional research funding was allocated to these organisations at reducing levels. At the same time, an increasing amount of NHS research funding was awarded competitively through new NIHR programmes and schemes.

Older People: Loneliness

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has undertaken of the effect of loneliness on the mental health of elderly people.

Norman Lamb: The Department has not undertaken an assessment on the effects of loneliness on the mental health of elderly people.
	The Department is working with organisations including the Campaign to End Loneliness, to understand the effects of loneliness and isolation, measure levels of social connectedness and to promote ways to tackle loneliness and isolation.
	One of the key areas for action on the Mental Health Strategy “No Health Without Mental Health” is to address the social and other determinants of mental ill health across all ages, and the inequalities that can both cause and be the result of mental health problems including, for example, social isolation, particularly among older people.

Personal Independence Payment

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether clinicians will be performing personal independence payment (PIP) assessments subcontracted to NHS trusts by Atos; and what assessment he has made of the potential effects of clinicians conducting PIP assessments on the ability of NHS trusts to perform their clinical functions.

Norman Lamb: No information is held by this Department on the precise nature of the contracts between individual national health service trusts and ATOS for provision of personal independence payment assessments. Trusts undertaking work outside their core NHS functions must ensure that such work does not interfere with the provision of NHS services to patients and that profits are used to improve patient services.

Phenylbutazone

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what tests the Food Standards Agency is using to detect phenylbutazone; how many of each type of test have been conducted to date; and what the costs are of each type of test.

Anna Soubry: The analysis of kidney samples from horses presented for slaughter is undertaken by an approved laboratory using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method used is accredited to ISO 17025. The number of tests undertaken between 30 January 2013, when the Food Standards Agency started 100% sampling of horses presented for slaughter for the presence of phenylbutazone, to 22 February 2013, is 328. The cost per sample is currently £170.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the adult population under 60 years old is exempt from paying prescription charges.

Norman Lamb: The following groups aged under 60 are exempt from national health service prescription charges in England:
	Under 16
	Aged 16-18 And In Full Time Education
	In receipt of Income Support or Income Related Employment Support Allowance
	In receipt of Income Based Job Seeker’s Allowance
	Holders of a valid NHS Tax Credit Exemption certificate
	Holders of a valid Medical Exemption certificate
	Holders of a valid Maternity Exemption certificate
	Holders of a HC2 Certificate for the NHS Low Income Scheme
	Holders of a valid War Pension exemption certificate
	With a partner who is in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
	Information is not held centrally on the proportion of adults in England under 60 with an exemption from these charges.

Social Services

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the additional cost to local authorities of delivering the deferred payment scheme for social care.

Norman Lamb: The Government have announced that from April 2015 all local authorities will offer deferred payments schemes.
	We will fund local authorities to help them offer the deferred payments. The funding required will depend on the scheme design and levels of uptake by the public.
	We will publish more detailed proposals and analysis during 2013.

Social Services: Learning Disability

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the ability of service users with learning difficulties to manage their direct payments for social care.

Norman Lamb: The Department has not made an assessment of the ability of people with learning disabilities to manage their direct payment. Direct payments offer people choice and control over how their care and support is provided. It is mandatory for local authorities to offer direct payments to people eligible for social care services who consent to, and are able to, manage payments.
	Local authorities are responsible for determining whether a person is capable of managing a direct payment. People can receive assistance in managing their payment and the Community Care, Services for Carers and Children's Services (Direct Payments) (England) Regulations 2009 allow direct payments to be made to a suitable person who receives and manages the payments on behalf of a person who lacks capacity.

South London Healthcare NHS Trust

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the increased number of ambulance journeys required as a result of the proposed changes to the South London Healthcare NHS Trust.

Anna Soubry: The Trust Special Administrator's report did not provide any estimation about the number of ambulance journeys required as a result of the recommendations presented to the Secretary of State. It did, however, consider the impact of different options on travel times to an accident and emergency department, which helped shape the specific recommendations in the report.

Training

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on training and education for civil servants in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The Department's central corporate expenditure on learning and development for its civil servants in 2010-11 and 2011-12 is set out in the following table. It incorporates all staff grades including those civil servants on the graduate fast stream scheme.
	
		
			 Corporate human resources (HR) learning and development expenditure by financial year 
			  Expenditure (£) 
			 2010-11 449,837 
			 2011-12 485,234 
			 Total 935,071 
		
	
	In addition, directorates also have learning and development budgets. Expenditure from these local budgets are not tracked centrally and information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

WALES

Alcoholic Drinks

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the level of alcohol-related absenteeism in his Department; whether his Department has an (a) internal alcohol policy and (b) occupational health strategy; and if he will publish such documents.

Stephen Crabb: The Ministry of Justice generates sickness absence reports in relation to staff at the Wales Office. It does not separately record the level of alcohol-related absenteeism from wider sickness absence reporting. The Wales Office's alcohol policy and occupational health strategy is provided by the Ministry of Justice, which is the key employer of Wales Office staff. I understand that copies of the Ministry of Justice's policies and guidance in respect of alcohol and occupational health are being placed in the Library of the House.

Organs: Donors

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether his consent would be needed if the Welsh Government implemented their plans for an opt-out system of organ donation in Wales; and what discussions he has held with the Secretary of State for Health on this issue.

David Jones: Under the Government of Wales Act 2006, the UK Government can refer issues of legislative competence to the Supreme Court. With each Assembly Bill, the Government will have to consider the question of whether its provisions are within the competence of the Assembly. I consider in relation to each Bill, as was the case for Measures, whether any of its provisions might have an adverse impact on the law as it applies in England.

Training

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on training and education for civil servants in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office spent £12,816 in 2010-11, and £27,091 in 2011-12, on training and education for its staff.

TREASURY

Banks: Loans

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made in discussion with UK banks on achieving a commitment to collate and publish lending data that are disaggregated by institution and presented on a postcode-level basis; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: holding answer 27 February 2013
	The Government agreed to work with the industry—through the British Bankers Association (BBA) and other interested parties—to secure a commitment from the banks that they will publish postcode level data by institution. If it is not possible to agree a satisfactory industry led solution, the Government agreed to introduce amendments to the Banking Reform Bill to ensure that the data are published.
	The Government are currently engaging in discussions on this issue and will provide an update once the discussions have reached a conclusion.

EU Budget

Margaret Curran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the value to Scotland of the UK rebate on the basis of the proposed Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020.

Danny Alexander: The Exchequer makes all UK contributions, less the abatement, to the EU budget. The UK abatement and contributions are not attributed to individual devolved Administrations.
	The OBR provides independent forecasts for the UK, but not for devolved Administrations. The most recent forecast was published in December 2012 and can be found in Table 2.19 of Economic and Fiscal Outlook supplementary fiscal tables at:
	http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-december-2012
	The OBR will update its forecasts at the time of Budget 2013.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what authority his Department has given to the Department for Transport for spending related to the High Speed 2 project; if he will publish all correspondence with the Department of Transport on that matter; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: The Government have allocated expenditure to HS2 Ltd during the current spending review period to design and develop plans for the proposed high speed route between London and Birmingham in support of the Hybrid Bill, and then the second phase to both Manchester and Leeds.
	The Department for Transport is responsible for managing the resources allocated at the spending review within delegated spending limits.
	The spending review document was published in October 2010 and is available online at:
	http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_completereport.pdf
	Government Ministers and officials exchange routine correspondence as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such exchanges.

Infrastructure UK

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2013, Official Report, column 268W, on Infrastructure UK, what the total value of loans from Infrastructure UK to Partnerships UK was in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and what the total value of such loans will be in 2014-15.

Danny Alexander: Loans from HM Treasury to Partnerships UK are published in the HM Treasury Annual Report and Accounts, available at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/dep_perf_reports_index.htm

LIBOR

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  who has been appointed to the tendering panel for the process to establish the new LIBOR administrator; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the reasons are for the time taken in progressing the tendering process for the appointing of a new Libor administrator; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: holding answer 27 February 2013
	The Government have been working with the British Bankers Association (BBA), the current administrator of LIBOR, to establish the process to appoint a new administrator. The work of the Hogg Committee, which will identify the appropriate successor, is now in progress following the passage of a Resolution by BBA members, voted upon at an extraordinary general meeting of the BBA held on 25 February. The Committee has formally launched the tendering process.
	The members of the Hogg Tendering Advisory Committee for LIBOR are as follows:
	Baroness Hogg, (Chair), Chairman, Financial Reporting Council;
	Paul Fisher, Executive Director, Markets; Bank of England;
	George Handjinicolaou, Deputy CEO and Head of EMEA; International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc;
	John Kingman, Second Permanent Secretary; HM Treasury;
	John Stewart, Chairman; Legal and General Group Plc;
	Colin Tyler, Chief Executive; Association of Corporate Treasurers;
	Martin Wheatley, Managing Director; Financial Services Authority.

Mayor of London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the devolution of additional powers to the Mayor of London; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The Chancellor plans to respond to Heseltine in the spring, which will look at devolution of powers to all places including London.

Non-domestic Rates: Appeals

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2013, Official Report, column 430W, on Valuation Office Agency, 
	(1)  if he will provide a full breakdown of the data on unresolved business rates appeals by appeals type at the end of the (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2010-11 financial year;
	(2)  how many of the 190,000 appeals against valuations for business rates cleared by the Valuation Office Agency in the financial year 2011-12 were (a) compiled list non-domestic rates appeals, (b) withdrawn and (c) duplications;
	(3)  how many of the 400,000 business rates appeals expected to be cleared by the Valuation Office Agency in the two years from the end of March 2011 to March 2013 are (a) compiled list non-domestic rates appeals, (b) withdrawn and (c) duplications.

David Gauke: The information is as follows:
	(i) The following table shows the latest available statistics on outstanding proposals-(appeals) on the 2005 and 2010 rating lists. The numbers provided cover England and Wales.
	
		
			  2005 rating list 2010 rating list 
			  Unresolved 31 March: 
			 Challenges(1) 2011 2012 2011 2012 
			 On Compiled List 10,910 3,980 106,630 175,370 
			 Material Change of Circumstances 46,800 36,010 36,520 37,270 
			 Against VO Notices 17,340 10,640 26,240 28,840 
			 Other 37,940 25,780 230 230 
			 Total 113,000 76,410 169,610 241,700 
			 (1) VOA Official Statistics, Local Rating Lists: Challenges, May 2012 http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/statisticalReleases/120503-localRatingListChallenges.html 
		
	
	(ii) The following table shows the latest available statistics on cleared proposals (appeals) on the 2005 and 2010 rating lists. The numbers provided cover England and Wales.
	
		
			  2005 rating list 2010 rating list 
			 Challenges(1) 2011-12 Cleared Withdrawn Cleared Withdrawn 
			 On Compiled List 7,000 3,350 124,840 64,100 
			 Material Change of Circumstances 10,880 5,260 14,460 6,680 
			 Against VO Notices 11,710 5,140 9,170 4,320 
			 Other 12,170 11,440 90 40 
			 Total 41,750 25,190 148,550 75,140 
			 (1) VOA Official Statistics, Local Rating Lists: Challenges, May 2012 http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/statisticalReleases/120503-localRatingListChallenges.html 
		
	
	VOA does not currently produce statistics on the number of “duplications”.
	(iii) The latest available statistics on outcomes of appeals or proposals are shown in the answer to (ii) above. No official statistics are produced for forecasts.

Pensions

Frank Dobson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who will be covered by the proposed guarantee of pensioners' rights to public servants transferred to the private sector.

Danny Alexander: The Fair Deal policy protects the pension of public sector workers that are transferred to the private sector. It requires that where staff are compulsorily transferred out of the public sector, the new employer must provide a broadly comparable pension scheme for the transferred staff.
	The Government have committed to reform the Fair Deal policy by offering access to the public service pension schemes for newly transferring staff. The number of individuals that will be covered by the new policy will depend on the future number of staff transfers. The Government do not hold data on the number of staff who may be subject to such transfers in the future.

SCOTLAND

Alcoholic Drinks

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the level of alcohol-related absenteeism in his Department; whether his Department has an (a) internal alcohol policy and (b) occupational health strategy; and if he will publish such documents.

David Mundell: All Scotland Office staff are on secondment from other Government bodies, principally the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, which remain their employers. All staff in the Office are covered by their parent bodies' absence management processes and alcohol-misuse policy. Staff also have access to an independent health care provider. While the Scotland Office maintains local absence records, there is no indication of any alcohol-related absences.

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland who his Department's cycling champion is.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not have an official cycling champion. Cycling to work is supported by the Scotland Office through the provision of facilities for storing bicycles and showers. Additionally all staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment from other Government bodies, mainly the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, and are able to access Cycle to Work schemes operated by their parent bodies.

Cycling

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  what progress his Department has made on implementing the Cycle to Work guarantee;
	(2)  whether his Department has signed up to the Government's Cycle to Work scheme.

David Mundell: All staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment from other Government bodies, mainly the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, and are able to access Cycle to Work schemes operated by their parent bodies.

Dover House

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions and to whom Dover House has been hired for commercial purposes since May 2010; and what income was derived from each such hire.

Michael Moore: Rooms in the Scotland Office have been hired for commercial purposes on two occasions since May 2010. £1,500 income was derived from the makers of the film Skyfall. £3,500 income was derived from Channel 4.

Official Hospitality

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has spent on catering and hospitality in each year since May 2010.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office expenditure for ministerial hospitality purposes in each year since. May 2010 is as shown in the following table (the following information relates to calendar years):
	
		
			  Total (£) 
			 2010 (May to December)(1) — 
			 2011 31,116.67 
			 2012 30,948.45 
			 2013 (January only) 5,695.00 
			 (1) For 2010, the Scotland Office does not retain the information in the format requested. 
		
	
	Separate totals for catering purposes are also not recorded and therefore unavailable.
	All expenditure incurred is in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Public Appointments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people he appointed to public bodies in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; (i) how many and (ii) what proportion of those appointees were (A) black or from an ethnic minority, (B) Hindu, (C) Muslim and (D) Chinese in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office's only public body is the Boundary Commission for Scotland. During the period requested, only one new appointment has been made to the Commission. That appointment commenced on 1 January 2011 and the appointee has not declared an ethnic minority status. All ministerial appointments to the Commission are carried out in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointment's Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies.

Referendums

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his department has had any discussions with the Scottish Government on the potential consequences for voters in Scotland of a UK general election or referendum occurring after a referendum in Scotland that produced a result in favour of Scottish independence but before any formal dissolution between the nations of the United Kingdom.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), has not had any discussions with the Scottish Government on the potential consequences for voters in Scotland of a UK general election or referendum occurring after a referendum in Scotland that produced a result in favour of Scottish independence but before any formal dissolution between the nations of the United Kingdom. The UK Government remain committed to the United Kingdom and we are confident that the people of Scotland will vote to remain a part of the UK.

Training

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on training and education for civil servants in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office encourages all staff to undertake learning and development activities. The majority of such opportunities are provided through the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice from where the majority of our staff are seconded. The figures in the following table show direct spending by the Scotland Office on training.
	
		
			  Spend (£) 
			 2010-11 12,671 
			 2011-12 3,111

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance her Department has provided for the development of local and regional stock exchanges in Africa.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) provides assistance to African stock exchanges in a number of areas, typically channelled through multi-donor Trusts whose purpose is to develop the financial sector. For example, in Tanzania DFID and other donors support the stock exchange regulator to develop a new market segment at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange called the Enterprise Growth Market, which is similar to the Alternative Investment Market at the London Stock Exchange. In Ethiopia, the DFID-supported Investment Climate Facility for Africa is helping to modernise the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange by introducing risk management instruments, facilitating trade and increasing members' access to online trading. In Southern Africa, DFID has provided support to the Committee of Southern African Development Community Stock Exchanges to develop business plans to improve the integration of capital markets in the region.

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what information her Department holds on how much the Burmese Government budgets for (a) health, (b) education and (c) the military were in 2012-13.

Alan Duncan: According to Government sources, health made up 3%, education 6%, and defence 16% of the total national budget in 2012-13.

Burma

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which capacity-building projects with the government of Burma her Department is funding.

Justine Greening: Because of the diverse nature of capacity building work, it would not be possible to provide a definitive list of capacity building projects involving the Government of Burma without incurring disproportionate costs.

Burma

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2013, Official Report, column 686W, on Burma, whether the Government of Burma is allowing international humanitarian access to all internally displaced people in Kachin state following representations by her Department.

Justine Greening: Some areas of Kachin State are not accessible to international humanitarian aid for internally displaced people. Access to these areas relies on a number of factors including successful negotiations between the Government of Burma and the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), and ensuring the safety and security of humanitarian aid workers. The UK, and other international partners, continue to raise the importance of humanitarian access with the Government, KIO and international humanitarian aid agencies.

Central African Republic

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she made of humanitarian needs in the Central African Republic; and what steps she is taking with international actors to support aid agencies in the region.

Lynne Featherstone: According to latest reports from the United Nations, the situation in Central African Republic (CAR) remains calm but unpredictable despite the ceasefire agreement signed on 11 January 2013 in Libreville, Gabon, by the CAR Government and the rebel group known as the Seleka Coalition. The humanitarian situation is still worrying and access to affected areas due to insecurity remains a major concern for humanitarian agencies.
	The UN has recently released a Consolidated Appeal (CAP) for CAR in 2013. This appeal is requesting $129 million to assist 646,000 people this year.
	At present all UK humanitarian funding for CAR is channelled through the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' Central Emergency Response Fund (OCHA CERF). We await news from both these agencies on their disbursements in CAR in 2013.

Palestinians

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to ensure that UK financial aid to the Palestinian Authority is not used for incitement against Israel and the West.

Alan Duncan: We oppose the advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence in all circumstances. We do not hesitate to raise instances of incitement with both the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel whenever we feel this appropriate. Our memorandum of understanding with the PA reaffirms the PA's commitment to non-violence and makes clear that our aid is intended to contribute towards a peaceful and prosperous Palestinian state and society by improving fiscal sustainability, improving public satisfaction and lowering fiduciary risk. We engage closely with the PA to ensure our money has maximum effect on achieving the intended goals.

Palestinians

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what processes are in place to ensure that UK-funded, EU-funded and UN-funded non-governmental organisations in the Palestinian Authority do not promote incitement against Israel and the West.

Alan Duncan: We deplore incitement on either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including any comments that could stir up hatred and prejudice in a region that needs a culture of peace and mutual respect. UK, EU and UN-funded non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are subject to rigorous due diligence assessments to ensure that funds are used for legitimate development purposes.

Swaziland

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of rates of AIDS and HIV infection in Swaziland.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID is very concerned about the rate of HIV in Swaziland. UNAIDS reports that the HIV prevalence rate in Swaziland is 26% of adults aged 15 to 49 and that there are an estimated 6,800 HIV related deaths per year. 190,000 people are estimated to be living with HIV in Swaziland.
	Although DFID does not provide direct support to HIV prevention programmes in Swaziland we recently gave £27 million to a four year programme on Behavioural Change Communication to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa, including Swaziland.

Swaziland

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department is giving to Swaziland; and what representations she has received on the development needs of Swaziland.

Lynne Featherstone: Swaziland does not receive any direct development funding from the UK. Swaziland does, however, benefit from some of DFID's Southern Africa regional programmes, including DFID's Regional Transboundary Water Project, which aims to improve the management of shared water resources in Southern Africa. DFID co-finances two renewable energy projects in Swaziland as part of the Scaling up of the Energy and Environment Partnership in Southern and East Africa.
	DFID funds several regional civil society programmes in Southern Africa which operate in Swaziland, including a £4.5 million grant to Save the Children for a five-year programme on economic literacy and participatory budgeting, and a £4.2 million grant to GenderLinks for a five year programme supporting women to know and demand their rights.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advertising: Children

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with editors and proprietors of national newspapers on the role they can play in reducing the sexualisation of children.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), has not had any recent discussions with the editors and proprietors of national newspapers on the role they can play in reducing the sexualisation of children. The Government are taking forward work in this area through the implementation of the recommendations of the Bailey Review.

Auctions: Internet

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether bidding fee auction websites must apply for a licence from the Gambling Commission in order to operate in the UK.

Hugh Robertson: Bidding fee auction websites must only apply for a Gambling Commission licence if they are located in Great Britain and are providing facilities for gambling as defined under the Gambling Act 2005. The Gambling Commission has advised that is not normally the case.

BBC

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what recent representations she has made to the BBC Trust on ensuring that the BBC is transparent in reporting the costs of making in-house radio content;
	(2)  what recent representations she has made to the BBC Trust on ensuring that the BBC is transparent in publication of its spend on radio content and provides a breakdown of the cost of in-house versus independent radio production.

Edward Vaizey: It is a matter for the BBC Trust to ensure that the BBC observes high standards of openness and transparency in both these matters in line with the BBC Charter and Agreement.

Broadband

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects state aid for the Super Connected Cities project to be approved.

Edward Vaizey: My Department continues to work with the European Commission on those elements of the Super-Connected Cities programme which might require state aid.

Broadband

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to enable competition in the supply of superfast broadband services.

Edward Vaizey: The UK has a highly competitive broadband market. Ofcom is responsible for ensuring competition in telecommunication services and regularly carry out market reviews to assess this. In the superfast broadband market BT Openreach is required to ensure service providers can provide services over their network on an equivalence basis to BT Retail, with Talk Talk Group and Sky, two of the largest providers offering services. Virgin Media offer competition with superfast broadband available to nearly 50% of homes in the UK. In addition, all networks built using subsidy from the Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) rural programme will be required to offer open access, ensuring any provider can offer services to these networks on an equal basis. On 7 September, the Government also announced a series of measures to reduce the barriers to deployment of superfast broadband, reducing red tape and bureaucracy to enable communications providers to deploy competing networks.

India

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what contribution her Department made to the recent trade delegation to India led by the Prime Minister.

Hugh Robertson: My Department worked closely with the Prime Minister's office and other Government Departments on a range of issues addressed during his recent visit to India. We supported the announcement by the British Council of “Re-Imagine”, a new five-year, £5 million arts programme which will stimulate a range of cultural exchanges and support a much-needed modern, mutual, UK-India relationship that is not relying on the past, but looking to the future.
	I was pleased that the British Library, the British Museum and the Premier League were able to join the Prime Minister's delegation, who were also joined during the visit by some members of the England Women's Cricket Team. We want to see a step change in cultural and sporting exchanges with India. We will see this reciprocal relationship flourish further during the Alchemy Festival at the Southbank Centre in London in April. These cultural exchanges also underpin our drive to boost exports in fashion, film and other creative industries. These exports, together with increasing levels of tourism from India, will contribute to the economic growth of the UK while enhancing our quality of life and enabling British audiences to experience the best contemporary art from India.

Internet

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 213W, on internet, what recent assessment she has made of the provision of free community internet access points for use by those who do not have internet access at home in (a) Glasgow North West, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

Edward Vaizey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), on 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 896W.

Mass Media

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what meetings (a) she and (b) officials in her Department have held with representatives of the media since the publication by Lord Justice Leveson of his report on press standards; and what the outcomes were of those meetings.

Edward Vaizey: All external meetings, including those with editors and proprietors, are published on the departmental website in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines.
	http://www.transparency.culture.gov.uk/category/other/meetings/

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many regulations her Department introduced between 1 June 2012 and 31 January 2013; if she will list those regulations; and what estimate she has made of the total cost of their introduction.

Hugh Robertson: We have introduced five sets of regulations between 1 June 2012 and 31 January 2013. They are:
	The Wireless Telegraphy (Control of Interference from Apparatus) (The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) Regulations 2012.
	The Video Recordings (Labelling) Regulations 2012.
	The Digital Economy Act 2010 (Transitional Provision) Regulations 2012.
	The Gambling (Licence Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2012.
	The Authorisation of Frequency Use for the Provision of Mobile Satellite Services (European Union) (Amendment) Regulations 2012.
	To collate the total cost of their introduction could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Television: Licensing

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of pensioners who will claim free television licences in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK in (i) 2014, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2016.

Edward Vaizey: The Government have made no estimate and does not hold relevant data. Although the BBC does not prepare forecasts for over 75 licences for any area smaller than the UK, it does prepare forecasts for financial years rather than calendar years, based on the trend in growth of Over-75 licences from year to year. The following figures have been rounded down to the nearest thousand. As with any forecasts, these figures are subject to change as new information becomes available.
	
		
			 O75 forecast volumes 
			  Estimated over O75 licences 
			 2013-14 3,937,000 
			 2014-15 3,971,000 
			 2015-16 4,009,000 
			 2016-17 4,044,000

Video Games

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many meetings officials in her Department have had with video games businesses in the last 12 months.

Edward Vaizey: The Department does not hold centrally a list of all meetings held by officials and to collate this information for the period requested would incur disproportionate cost. The Department continues to have close links with the video games industry.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Alcoholic Drinks

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the level of alcohol-related absenteeism in his Department; whether his Department has an (a) internal alcohol policy and (b) occupational health strategy; and if he will publish such documents.

Alistair Burt: We have made no estimate of alcohol-related absenteeism. While alcohol may be a contributing factor in some cases, individuals who self-certify or GPs who provide fit notes are more likely to cite contributing conditions, such as stress, or resulting conditions, like liver disease, as the cause of the absence.
	I have placed a copy of the Alcohol Policy, which sets out our response to alcohol related incidents at work, in the Library of the House.
	While we do not have an occupational health strategy, occupational health advice is a central part of our package of health and welfare support to all staff.

Arctic

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with member states of the Arctic Council on setting the limits of financial liability for oil and gas operations within their national jurisdictions in the Arctic.

Mark Simmonds: There have been no recent discussions between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and member states of the Arctic Council on setting the limits of financial liability for oil and gas operations within their national jurisdictions in the Arctic. Though financial liability for oil and gas operations was not specifically discussed during the recent ministerial visit to Norway, both sides stressed the importance of ensuring oil and gas development in the region is undertaken with the highest regard for the environment.

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made on whether the Government of Burma has fully met the conditions required for the continued suspension of EU sanctions.

Hugo Swire: On 23 April 2012, EU Foreign Ministers agreed to suspend all EU Sanctions on Burma for one year, apart from the arms embargo and restrictions on the supply of equipment which could be used for international repression. This was in recognition of the significant progress made by the Burmese Government against the EU’s benchmarks as set out in Council Conclusions of January 2012. This included the release of a significant number of political prisoners, the signing of ceasefires with 10 of 11 major armed ethnic groups and the largely free and fair parliamentary by-elections on 1 April 2012.
	By 22 April this year, EU Foreign Ministers must consider whether to lift, suspend or re-impose sanctions on Burma. The decision by EU Foreign Ministers will be influenced by the Burmese Government's efforts to make further progress against remaining benchmarks. If unanimity cannot be reached, sanctions will fall away in their entirety.

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which repressive laws have been completely repealed in Burma.

Hugo Swire: The Burmese Government have emphasised that the establishment of rule of law is a priority, and has taken some steps in this regard. For example, in January this year they repealed a law limiting the right to associate in groups of more than four people. However, there are still many older laws on the statute books which can be used to curb individual liberties.
	The Burmese Parliament is currently undertaking an assessment of all of the country's laws, and its response for the most part has been to amend old laws (for example, recently the Bar Council Law was amended to allow 10 of 13 people on the Council to be elected, rather than appointed by the Attorney-General) rather than to fully repeal them.

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Burma regarding increased land confiscation in that country.

Hugo Swire: Since the suspension of EU sanctions in April 2012, the British Government have encouraged responsible trade and investment in support of Burma's democratic reform process. The British Government have provided funds to support the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Burma, through which civil society and community leaders will be engaged in decisions over investments in the natural resources and extractives sectors.
	Neither the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), nor I have to date raised the specific issue of land confiscation with the Burmese Government.

Burma

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government are working with its EU counterparts on pushing for a regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations-led response to the refugee crisis resulting from ongoing sectarian violence in Rakhine state in Burma.

Hugo Swire: On 13 December 2012, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed the situation in Burma with newly appointed Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General, Le Luong Minh, during his visit to London. We have also discussed the issue bilaterally with Thailand and Indonesia.
	In October 2012, former ASEAN Secretary-General, Surin Pitsuwan, suggested that there should be an increased role for ASEAN to help Burma address the situation in Rakhine State. Unfortunately, the necessary consensus on this proposal could not be reached by ASEAN member states.
	The British Government have so far committed £2 million towards relief efforts in Rakhine State. Following my own visit to Rakhine State in December 2012, on 11 February I called on the international community to match the UK's efforts. We continue to work closely with international organisations, such as the EU and UN, to support the provision of humanitarian assistance to those people affected by inter-communal violence in Burma's Rakhine State.

Burma

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government have had with the government of Thailand regarding reports that Thai officials have been selling Burmese refugees to trafficking criminals.

Hugo Swire: Through the European Union, the UK engages in ongoing discussions with Thailand across a range of migration related issues. In June 2012, the EU Delegation to Thailand jointly hosted a two day seminar on migration management with the Thai authorities. This encompassed specific discussions with representatives of the Royal Thai Police and relevant Ministries on tackling human trafficking and transnational organised crime.
	During the visit of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), to Thailand in November 2012, the UK agreed to provide capacity-building to Thailand on how best to tackle illegal migration. We will continue to co-operate with the Thai authorities on efforts to disrupt human trafficking and illegal migration. These issues will be included in the agenda for the first UK-Thailand Strategic Dialogue which I will lead later this year.

Burma

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to encourage the government of Thailand to grant the UN High Commissioner for Refugees full and permanent access to conduct refugee screening for all Rohingya refugees fleeing from the sectarian violence in Rakhine state in Burma.

Hugo Swire: Our embassy in Bangkok regularly raises the issue of the Rohingya with the appropriate Thai authorities both bilaterally and through the European Commission, pushing for full and permanent access by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration to those Rohingya detained in Thailand.
	We continue to follow the issue closely, in close conjunction with UNHCR.

Central African Republic

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on breaches of the ceasefire agreed as part of the Libreville peace agreement in the Central African Republic (CAR); and what steps he is taking to support the new government of national unity in the CAR in achieving the goals of that agreement.

Mark Simmonds: We welcome the Libreville peace agreement, and the subsequent formation of the government of national unity. Although we have received no direct representations on breaches of the ceasefire, we believe the situation is still precarious, and the international community must remain closely engaged with the government of national unity to ensure full implementation of the peace agreement. We continue to work closely with France on the UN Security Council's response to the situation in Central African Republic (CAR), including on this month's (March) review of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the CAR’s (BINUCA) priorities.

Public Appointments

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people he appointed to public bodies in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; (i) how many and (ii) what proportion of those appointees were (A) black or from an ethnic minority, (B) Hindu, (C) Muslim and (D) Chinese in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), is responsible for five public bodies; the British Council, the Great Britain and China Centre, the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the Foreign Compensation Commission. He made the following appointments and re-appointments in 2010-11 and 2011-12:
	
		
			  2010-11 2011-12 
			 New appointments 6 3 
			 Re-appointments 4 3 
			 Total 10 6 
		
	
	The Commissioner for Public Appointments collates and publishes information on the number of appointments of candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds; however this information is not broken down by ethnic group.
	Copies of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 annual reports are available at
	http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk
	Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Training

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on training and education for civil servants in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has made strengthening the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as an institution a priority, under the heading of ‘Diplomatic Excellence', a programme, which has the ambition of sustaining the FCO as the best diplomatic service in the world.
	This includes building up the skills and expertise of staff in languages, economic expertise, knowledge of individual countries, regions and cultures, and core diplomatic skills such as negotiation.
	For example, we are investing more in language training to make it more effective, including by:
	lengthening training programmes and increasing the number of speakers in key languages such as Arabic and Mandarin
	increasing the number of jobs overseas for which language skills will be an absolute requirement
	providing lunchtime and after-work classes, and e-learning resources to ensure that speakers can develop and maintain skills while on home postings
	The FCO employs approximately 14,000 staff worldwide, made up of UK-based civil servants and locally engaged (LE) staff. Approximately 80% of FCO staff are based overseas which is why we invest in providing L&D overseas.
	The FCO spent approximately £20.8 million in 2010-2011 and £18.7 million in 2011-12 on L&D for its work force. On a more limited definition, spend on training and education courses in the UK was £12.1 million and £9.8 million respectively.
	This is the first time that we have been able to report our best estimates of the full costs for the FCO as a result of improved financial reporting.
	We continue to emphasise value for money in L&D provision. This includes the full use of central Civil Service Learning resources, savings through re-procurement, a greater emphasis on workplace learning and the more effective use of evaluation.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Marriage

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what consultation or discussions she held with the Northern Ireland Justice Minister on the Government's proposals for equal civil marriage.

Helen Grant: I am engaging with the hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) in his role as Minister of Finance and Personnel about the Government's proposals in the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, with a view to ensuring that the Bill works in the UK as a whole.

Marriage

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many people who responded to the Government's consultation on equal civil marriage were resident in Northern Ireland; and what proportion of those people were (a) in favour of and (b) against the proposals.

Helen Grant: The Government received over 228,000 responses, along with nineteen petitions, to its consultation on extending marriage in England and Wales to same sex couples. In the event that a Government consultation is likely to receive a high volume of responses, it is not standard practice to collect either names or the contact details of those individuals that respond. We are, therefore, unable to identify responses from individuals in Northern Ireland.
	We received written responses from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and Traditional Unionist Voice.

Marriage

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what measures she plans to introduce to ensure protection for religious groups whose opposition to same sex marriage ceremonies in their premises is challenged via the European Court of Human Rights.

Helen Grant: As the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Women and Equalities made clear at the Second Reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, the Bill contains full protection against successful legal challenge of a religious organisation's refusal to conduct a marriage of same sex couples.
	The Bill contains a quadruple lock of religious protections which deliver on this commitment. No religious organisation will be allowed to solemnize marriages of same sex couples according to its rites or on its premises unless the governing authority of the organisation has formally chosen to “opt in”. It is clearly provided in the Bill that no religious organisation can be compelled to “opt in”. So any challenge in the European Court of Human Rights would be brought against the Government, not the religious organisation. Even if an organisation does opt in, no minister of religion (or person involved in the solemnization) can be compelled to take part. We have made separate arrangements to protect the Church of England and the Church in Wales because of their unique legal positions.